By Nathaniel Zaccheaus and Cross Udo, Abuja
In a weekend shocker, former President Olusegun Obasanjo unleashed a scathing critique of the National Assembly, when he said it was “immoral” for the National Assembly members to determine their salaries and allowances.
He said it was the duty of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to decide what public officeholders earn.
He also took a swipe at the nation’s leadership, declaring that many current public officeholders deserve to be either behind bars or executed. His explosive remarks have ignited a firestorm, putting the spotlight squarely on the nation’s political elite.
He stated this in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital when six members of the House of Representatives, who are the co-sponsors of the bill on a single six-year term for president and governors, and power rotation between the North and the South, visited him.
They were led by a former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Downstream Petroleum Ugo Chinyere.
The ex-president’s comments immediately drew the ire of the National Assembly with the Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu, issuing a strong denial of allegations suggesting that it is involved in determining its salaries or receiving special fiscal packages from the Presidency.
Also, the Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, said that contrary to Obasanjo’s spurious allegation, the 10th House of Reps differed from his era.
*Obasanjo’s bombshell
Obasanjo had said, “You are not supposed to fix your salaries or allowances; it is supposed to be done by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
“With all due respect, you know it’s not right; it is not right for me to be the one to determine what I pay myself; it is immoral, and you are doing it; the Senate is doing it.”
He also lamented the massive corruption in the country’s public sector and noted with regret that those involved are currently occupying various leadership positions in the country.
The former president alleged that past accounting officers of public institutions including the oil and gas sector, aviation, maritime, educational, health, and other government-owned enterprises who had looted public funds are now being celebrated as leaders.
He argued that most of them wouldn’t have had the opportunity of getting to political offices if the country had functional institutions.
He said, “So, the very beginning is ourselves, yes system, yes we have to rethink our democracy but the character of people in government must change. With all due respect, most of those in government should right now be behind bars or in gallows.”
Obasanjo further regretted that those who succeeded him had failed to build on the foundation he laid while he was in power.
He told his guests that their proposal for a single-term tenure and power rotational might not achieve the desired results if those who seek public offices failed to change their mindset, orientation, and character.
He said, “The issue for me if we get it right whether we have a single term of six years or two terms of four years is that we must decarbonise our brains and mentality.
“Look if you give him a single term of six years, he can go ahead and still do the evil he would have done in a case of two terms of four years.
“The only difference is that he would have done that within six years and not four years and that is if he is not re-elected for another four years.
“To me, this is not our problem. Our main problem is ourselves and until we take care of ourselves, if we like let us adopt a single term of six years, one term of four years among others with the same mentality and same way of doing things, nothing will change,” Obasanjo stated.
The former President lamented that the foundation he fought so hard to put in place had been dismantled by successive Nigeria leaders
Recalled that Obasanjo had worked tirelessly to build Nigeria’s foreign reserves from its lows of $5bn in 1999 to about $42bn in 2006.
He had also negotiated a debt buyback that saw the country repaying $12bn as against the $36bn it owed the Paris Club.
He said, “How I wish that the succeeding governments had built on the foundation we laid, even if not as fast as one would have wanted it. Sadly, the blocks we put there are even being removed.
“What I know about Nigeria is that, yes, if we get it right—the leadership, the team, because one tree does not make a forest—you need a good leader, but you also need a good team for a job well done
“The point is that if we get this right, in about two and a half years, we shall get some of the challenges behind us, and in about 10 years, we would have a solid foundation, and in about 25 years, we would be there.
“But what we have always done is take one step forward, two steps aside, and four steps backward, which is why we are where we are in the country.
“For me, it is not so much about the system, but we may need to rethink the liberal democracy where we talk of loyal opposition.
“What we do in Africa is sit down and reach a consensus, and after we have done that, there is no opposition; everyone is on the same page, and we move together.
“The word for opposition in all African languages that I have looked into is ‘enemies.’ What do you do with loyal enemies? Nothing like that; once you take it, it belongs to you—the winners take all, and the opposition goes into the wilderness.
“That is what we do, but this is not good. We need everyone to join hands together and move society forward. The issue for me, if we get it right, whether we have a single term of six years or two terms of four years, is that we must decarbonise our brains and mentality.
“If you give someone a single term of six years, they can still do the evil they would have done in a case of two terms of four years. The only difference is that they would have done it within six years and not four years. That is if they were not re-elected for another four years.
“To me, this is not our problem. Our main problem is ourselves, and until we take care of ourselves, even if we adopt a single term of six years or one term of four years, with the same mentality and the same way of doing things, nothing will change.
“So, the very beginning is ourselves. Yes, we have to rethink our democracy, but the character of people in government must change. With all due respect, most of those in government should right now be behind bars or in the gallows.”
He maintained that in choosing good leaders, characters must be considered and questioned.
His words read, “More than anything else, such as changing our system of government or moving to a single term of six or four years, we must change our ways of doing things in this country, we must decarbonise our brains, we must change our mentality and character.”
The lawmakers on the entourage included Abdulmalik Danga from Kogi State; Dr Usman Midala from Borno State; Matthew Nwogu from Imo State; Peter Aniekwe from Anambra State; Kama Nkemkanma from Ebonyi State and Ugochinyere Ikenga from Imo State.
*Senate Reps say allegations of fixing self, salaries, false
Meanwhile, the Senate in a statement yesterday by its Spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu, who represents Ekiti South, described the allegations as an attempt to “crucify the legislature by the centurions of political hypocrisy.”
Adaramodu emphasised that no Senator has received any financial patronage from the Presidency.
He clarified that the constituency projects often linked to the legislature are merely suggested and nominated by Senators, following practices common in other democracies worldwide.
To set the record straight, the Senate stressed that it only receives the salary allocated to it by the Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Allocation Commission, in strict accordance with constitutional provisions.
The Senate challenged anyone with credible evidence to present contrary facts, describing any suggestion that the National Assembly fixes its salaries as “uncharitable and satanic.”
The Senate further explained that “the Executive arm of government, through its various Ministries and agencies, is responsible for awarding contracts for the constituency projects.”
Part of the statement read, “The funds allocated for these projects, vary depending on the number of constituencies in each state and the intention is to ensure that every region of Nigeria benefits from federal resources.
“As the country enters what some describe as a season of political pontificating, the 10th Assembly remains a responsible and responsive chamber.”
It reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the economy and growth of Nigeria, insisting that it only receives what is constitutionally allocated to it and would never seek additional perks from other branches of government.
Also reacting to Obasanjo’s claims, Deputy Spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Agbese said that the former president “is always right and wrong because the 10th House of Reps is different from his era.”
He said that Obasanjo was using the past to pass judgement on the present, adding that this was wrong and unfounded.
According to him, as a parliament, we have strived to maintain the highest level of accountability and transparency in all that we do under Speaker Tajudeen Abass.
“I am bold to say that the respected former president is right and wrong because of the things that transpired between him and the National Assembly during his time as president.
“Stories abound that he was helpless. This is no longer the case, as quite a lot has been done by the current crop of representatives to deliver to the poor masses.”
He said that no one could be more sanctimonious about the welfare of the people than the current speaker of the House of Representatives.
He said, under Abbas’s leadership, “We mean what we say and everything that we do as a parliament. The era of narrow interest is over. We are here for our people and their collective interests.
On the N100m and N200m allegedly given to members of the National Assembly, Agbese said that no such thing happened under the current administration led by President Bola Tinubu.
*Obasanjo’s govt more corrupt- Obono-Obla, Buhari’s
Similarly, a former Chairman of the Special Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, said some people who served under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration are supposed to be in jail.
But Obono-Obla said as a lawyer of many years standing, it may be wrong for him to make such a conclusion because mere allegations do not make one guilty until proven by a competent court of jurisdiction.
Reacting to the recent comment by former President Obasanjo that some persons occupying positions in government should be in jail, Obono-Obla said:
“So many people in Obasanjo’s eight-year presidency equally should have been in jail. However, as a lawyer, I cannot subscribe to such fallacious arguments no matter how attractive they sound. “
The human rights activist contended that no matter how attractive suspicion is, it does not make someone guilty, “that is a fundamental principle of law.
“Having said that, I think it is in the realm of speculation or rumour-mongering to suggest so, and so a person ought to be in jail.
“Was the allegation against such a person investigated? Was a prima facie case established against the person? Was he convicted before a court of competent jurisdiction?” he rhetorically asked.
