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Why Anisulowo got that
�senatorial� slap
By
Adetutu Folasade-Koyi,
National
Assembly Correspondent,
Abuja
There
is a certain level an individual attains in life that public decorum
becomes a way of life. It is superimposed, because the weight of that
office would automatically dictate that certain behaviours are not
expected in public.
Last
Thursday, unwittingly, the Senate proved Nigerians right that legislators
are only in Abuja for the love of the money that comes with that
office.
On
that day, the Senate Committee on States and Local Government Affairs was
billed to pay a courtesy visit to Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The Vice
Chairman of the committee, Senator Isa Mohammed, chose that auspicious
time to confer with his chairman, Senator Veronica Iyabode Anisulowo. From
reports, Mohammed had sought, in vain, to chat with his chairman over how
the committee�s funds were being spent. He reportedly got no response. His
emotions got the better of him and in public, he packed his punch, which
landed on the face of his boss. The rest of the story is public knowledge.
For
sometime now, there have been side talks of how committee chairmen and
their members are at loggerheads over how to �effectively� disburse
committee funds. I do not want to use the word �share� because that is a
taboo word here. At the National Assembly, rather than say share, the
operative and preferred word is �allocate�.
Now,
there really is no problem there, is it? To say that Senators have an
image problem is stating the obvious. In the eyes of Nigerians, all
politicians know how to do best in Abuja is chase after the �loot,� no
matter where it comes from.
Last
Wednesday, in a chat with the Senate Committee Chairman on FCT, Senator
Bello Gwarzo was hard put to exonerate not only himself, but also his
colleagues that they were not �settled� to the tune of N10 million each to
allow Baba easy ride in his bid to increase fuel price in the land. Coming
from the legislator, it was not a new matter. After all, to pass the
Labour Bill and also to allow the el-Rufai (silence is the best answer for
a fool) matter die a natural death, Senators were said to have haggled for
N5 million apiece. Whether it is true or not, the crux of the matter is
that here in Abuja, rumours thrive. And such rumours would thrive because
the Senate itself has, inadvertently, shot itself in the foot by allowing
such rumours to thrive with their conduct.
For
now, the dirty linen has been washed in public. It would take a while for
Nigerians to be convinced that being in Abuja is not all about sharing. Is
someone listening?
And
the ritual of budget presentation
Last
Tuesday, despite an on-going work-to-rule strike action by the Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC), President Olusegun Obasanjo still went ahead to
present the 2005 N1.617 trillion budget proposal for the nation.
Although
lawmakers applauded the $27 dollar benchmark, others who preferred to be
unnamed queried how the Federal Government arrived at that ceiling. The
international rate for the nation�s crude cannot fall below, in their
estimation, at least, $30.
At
a pre-budget hearing of the Senate Appropriations and Finance Committee
three weeks ago, the Central Bank of Nigeria told the panel that the
inflation rate in the country is now at 19 per cent, with a fervent hope
that it would go as low as a single digit next year.
One
does not need to be an economist to know that the CBN figure is not true.
If they want to believe that, fine by them, but why should they mislead
the President into believing that much, that it was even included in the
President�s budget speech to the National Assembly?
In
his comments after the President presented his budget, Appropriations and
Finance Chairman, Senator John Azuta-Mbata queried why the President was
silent on the issue of petroleum subsidy but assured that the benchmark is
still feasible.
�The
issue of petroleum subsidy was not mentioned. That means it is not a
priority of government. The benchmark of $27 is okay, considering the
price of petroleum product in the international market. The picture
painted for 2005 looks promising. We believe it is sustainable,� he
said.
Senators
David Mark and Farouk Bello-Bunza were however cautious in their appraisal
of the President�s proposal.
Mark,
who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, said:
�Early presentation of the budget does not translate to good performance.
The police budget is not adequate at all. Allocating 7.2 per cent of the
budget to police is very minimal if you consider the amount that the
police actually need,� he said, while Bello-Bunza, vice chairman of the
Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Financial Institutions,
insisted that the benchmark could still be raised, �We still have to work
on it. Last year, the benchmark was $23, but the National Assembly jerked
it up to $25. We will look at all the parameters and if we are convinced
about them, then, I believe that we may still jerk it up. If the variables
do not change, then, we may have to jerk up the benchmark,� he
explained.
The
legislator from Kebbi equally tasked the President on specific projects on
which the proposed N5 billion would be spent, to cushion the effect of the
recent fuel price increase. � The amount is not the issue; the issue is
more on specifics. Labour has been bombarding the Federal Government on
fuel price increase. The federal government should come out with specifics
of how government wants to cushion the effect on Nigerians. That should
have been addressed in the President�s presentation,� he said.
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