Senator Ningi Was Wrong And Should Apologise -By Dele Sobowale

“It aint the things you don’t know that causes the problem; it’s the things you think you know that aint so” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882.

The National Assembly can never pad a budget as long as it is the budget passed by a majority of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. That opening statement might startle many people who have taken sides in the current controversy surrounding the issue since distinguished Senator Ningi went public with his views on the 2024 Budget. At the same time, the Senate probably acted illegally by suspending the senator for a few weeks.

Two wrongs will never result in something right. Nigerians are being deprived of representation by removing their representative; when the matter could have been settled by benign neglect. The Senate President could simply have ignored the “accuser” because in reality there is no valid allegation. As it is, this tempest in a tea pot has distracted the Federal Government at a time when the country is drowning in multiple crises; each of which is demanding urgent attention before another crops up.

Believe me, two gigantic challenges – food scarcity and the minimum wage decision — are right in front of us – which will challenge the country to its foundations. Tomorrow, on the Business Page, I will focus on wages and salaries; next week, food scarcity will again be revisited. But, in order to face real problems, I strongly believe we must set aside a major distraction.

As usual, it needs to be stated that neither the officials of the FG nor the Senate President had been asked to defend themselves. I am certainly not taking this position out of love for Senate President Godswill Akpabio as will be revealed presently. But, the great US Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis, 1856-1941, once wrote that nobody should judge a case if he is not ready to ensure that even his worst enemy receives justice. He went further to enjoin us to always judge the case and not the parties involved. I don’t know Senator Ningi and so, there is no bias against him. Akpabio, I know to some extent. His tenure so far, as Senate President, ranks him as the worst since 1999. I am not totally surprised.

However, on this matter, the truth favours Akpabio and majority of the senators who stand by him on the issue of padding. Not only was there no padding; there cannot be padding – as long as the budget presented to the President was the one approved by a majority of the NASS. Ningi has not proved that there was addition to what the NASS approved. He and other Nigerians might not like what was passed, but, that is another matter; and I will soon reveal one of my concerns about the Akpabio-led Senate.

US PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM AS GUIDE

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing…” – Alexander Pope, 1688-1744

Most of those supporting Ningi on this matter do so for political, ethnic or other irrelevant reasons. Certainly, the outrage against the NASS, directly, and the FG, indirectly, are not based on principles of governance known to democracies which consist of the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary branches – each with its own distinct functions. On account of personal bias, let me add the Media as the Fourth Estate of the Realm. The Judiciary and the Media are mere onlookers with regard to annual budgets. Media also add noise making to their contributions – which is exactly why we have this unnecessary controversy. Since we were forced to adopt American-style presidency by the military, we might as well follow its principles. None of us should arrogate to themselves the right to pick what we accept or reject – until the Constitution is altered.

In practice, the President presents a proposed budget to the Congress (US) or NASS (Nigeria) for consideration. At that stage, it is neither a budget nor an offer which the lawmakers must accept without amendments. Each lawmaker, in the Senate and the House, was elected from a constituency. He is under obligations to consider the national, the constituency’s and his political party’s interests when presented with the draft budget from the Executive branch. The legislators, individually and collectively, also have the additional responsibility of making laws to promote the welfare of the people in all its ramifications. When they pass bills which require funding, they are empowered by law to add the amounts required to implement those laws into the budget. They don’t need the President’s permission to include those requests because it is also their joint responsibility to raise the funds to prosecute all the programmes and projects contained in the appropriations bill approved by the NASS. The lawmakers might be wrong to have approved expenditure on certain items; but, they cannot be accused of padding the budget. They own it and can do anything legal with it.

AKPABIO’S CONSTITUENCY PROJECT

“In the 2024 Budget, it has now been alleged that in Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s constituency, to drill one borehole costs N193m ($200,000). If it costs that much to drill a fountain of God-given free water, how much will the Senate President tell us it costs to drill an oil well?” – Fola Ojo, PUNCH, MARCH 22, 2024.

While Ningi was belly-aching about a non-issue, he left an allegation bordering on transparency and accountability untouched. I must confess not to have read every line of the 2024 Budget. From Fola Ojo’s comments, some lynx-eyed analysts must have gone through it with the finest tooth comb imaginable to have discovered the entry concerning the borehole in Akpabio’s constituency. I just pray to God that it is not true. There were/are very few people in public service on who I could bet a million would not be involved in such a claim. They don’t even have to be there — Obong Attah, Dr Alex Ekwueme, Professors Olikoye Ransome-Kuti and Bolaji Akinyemi and Dr Kalu Idika Kalu – to name a few. I would not even have bothered to write this article.

Silence is not golden in this case. For that matter, the conspiracy of silence by all the senators, Ningi included, speaks louder than any noisy loud speaker could deliver to Nigerians. Were they all aware of this alleged amount? Was it a typographical error — N1.93m instead of N193m? And, if it is not, why doesn’t Akpabio disclaim it or at least explain it? Perhaps the amount is meant to drill boreholes in every community in the state.

Nigerians generally hold their lawmakers in disdain – with or without proof. If this allegation goes unchallenged and disproved, all our senators would be considered accomplices before and after the crime was committed.

WHAT EXACTLY IS NLC?

Rowing harder is not an option when the boat is headed towards a powerful waterfall – unless suicide is the objective. Ordinarily, with one of our former colleagues as President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, we should provide total support. But, under Mr Ajero, an organisation which started out to promote the welfare of workers has now become an entity selecting their oppressors. Make no mistake about it; the interests of workers and elected officials are like two parallel lines. It is difficult to see the meeting point.

Certainly, if NLC intends to operate like the owners of a political party, then they have no right to expect those of us who are non-card-carrying members to support them – especially when the party stands for nothing. As far as I am concerned, the Labour Party is just another conspiracy by a few to seize power and the Central Bank. It cannot possibly claim to be speaking for workers; since the majority of Nigerian workers are not its party members.

Giving advice is a dangerous thing even when one is asked. It is more hazardous when nobody asked you. But, because this misadventure might have disastrous repercussions for our country, I will give it anyway. Labour should return to its original mission of working for the economic welfare of workers; otherwise it will disintegrate. Supposing Obi, the Labour candidate, had been declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election, would the NLC be making the outrageous minimum wage demands that are now being made? Would workers’ interests not have been subordinated to party interests?