Newspaper editorials represent the corporate positions of the newspaper as an organisation on the issues they address. These opinions – though subjective in nature – are aimed at evaluating issues that are considered important to the newspaper’s readership, and they are supposed to be analytical but fact-based.
It is necessary to begin this rejoinder to the editorial opinion of The PUNCH published on May 1, 2019 and titled: “Cheerless valediction for Eighth National Assembly”, by stipulating the aforementioned, as the editorial reads absolutely contrary to the facts of the last four years.
First, it is important to note that the leadership of the 8th National Assembly, specifically, the Upper Legislative Chamber, the Senate, began its legislative activities on June 9, 2015, with a solemn pledge to “entrench democracy and allow its core principles to guide the conduct” of its affairs. Additionally, in the inaugural address of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, he specifically charged his colleagues, as the ‘first amongst equals’ to remember that: “If we must justify the privilege of representation conferred on us by our people. Nigerians want to see a proactive National Assembly that will devote itself to rigorous thinking, rolling up sleeves to forge a new and prosperous Nigeria.”
Since then, the 8th Senate has lived up to its charge to be forward-thinking, accessible, yet quick-to-react to issues that have impacted the lives of Nigerians. Hence, the uncorroborated claims by The PUNCH that the 8th National Assembly has been power-drunk, is entirely unjustified, inaccurate and an intentional attempt by the members of the newspaper’s editorial board to misguide its unsuspecting readers. In fact, the editorial shows the disconnect between the cosy Editorial Board room and the busy newsroom in the headquarters of the newspaper.
For example, the spurious claim made in the editorial addresses the issue of the emoluments of legislators – claiming that Nigeria’s lawmakers are the highest paid in the world. This is untrue. This is because the editorial fails to expound on the fact that legislators in all parliaments across the world receive running costs and operational budgets to fund their legislative activities. Consequently, the running costs of legislators’ offices cannot be included or counted as their salaries or their allowances. These funds, specifically allocated to each senator a month, are receipted and retired at the end of each month; and used to manage their day-to-day activities – like bill drafting, engagement of experts and payment for consultancy services and travel – in their legislative offices, both at the National Assembly and in their various constituencies.
To place the inaccurate claim made by the editorial within context, in the United Kingdom, outside their annual salaries, the UK MPs receive accommodation allowances of between £15,850 (N7,904,464) and £22,760 (N11,350,512) annually for rent; office costs between £24,150 (N12,043,711) and £26,850 (N13,390,213) annually; staffing costs between £150,900 (N75,254,493) and £161,550 (N80,565,695) annually; and other living area cost for the MPs living in the London area.
The Eighth National Assembly which the editorial accused of opacity is the one that has re-introduced the culture of making full disclosure about the details of its annual budget. It has also opened its proceedings to the public through live streaming and circulation of records of daily proceedings. It also instituted the idea of public hearing on annual budgets preparations and ensured that key stakeholders participate in the conception, drafting and presentation of bills.
The editorial writer(s) of The PUNCH struggled to make it look like the National Assembly did nothing to help the nation’s economy in the last 47 months that it has been in place. However, we seek to remind the newspaper that the first time the then Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, pronounced that the nation’s economy was in ‘technical recession’ was during a question and answer session on the floor of the Senate on July 21, 2016, following a summons by the Senate to brief its members on the state of the economy. The government had previously been evasive on the issue.
In addition to this, the Senate was the first institution of government – following the admission by the minister on the 2016 recession – to initiate steps by tabling 21 recommendations that it submitted to the executive for immediate action. The recommendations came from a series of sessions the Senate leadership held with the leaders of the private sector and some experts in Lagos over how to chart the way out of the economic crisis. The Senate also listed out economic priority bills, including the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act and the Credit Reporting Act which were assented to in May 2017. These two laws led to the World Bank rating Nigeria among the top 10 most improved economies in its 2016/17 Ease of Doing Business Report. I am sure the persons who did the research for the editorial omitted all these in spite of the fact that the influential newspaper also reported and published various news stories on these events and issues.
Additionally, the editorial’s attempt at downplaying the importance, impact and influence of the over 285 bills passed by the Senate in 47 months is a suspicious and premeditated move that needs to be questioned. This is because, over the last four years, the work of the 8th Senate has been commended by international bodies and actors, national civil society groups, and stakeholders from across various spheres of influence that make up Nigeria’s society.
In fact, in a recent public statement by the Office of the Senate President, it was revealed that “the 8th Senate has surpassed the records of all previous Senate in the number of bills passed; the significance of these bills to the revival of the economy; the fight against insecurity and corruption; improvement in the provision of health service and the education sector; as well as better social service delivery to the generality of the people.”
The previously mentioned statement also emphasised that “the bills passed, motions moved, intervention made and frequent engagement with the people were all directed towards addressing the day to day issues that affect the lives of the ordinary Nigerians” and have been commended as people-centred, forward-thinking, and necessary by individuals and organisations that range from Bill Gates, Bono, the founder of the ONE Campaign, to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of World Health Organisation, the World Bank, all the way to the Pakistani-born Nobel laureate, Yousafzai Malala.
Another contentious claim made by the editorial is that the National Assembly’s reduction of the budget of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in the 2017 budget cycle was ‘visionless’. This description, devoid of the surrounding circumstances and rationale, is absolutely short-sighted and myopic. The position of the National Assembly is that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway remains the most viable road in Nigeria which should attract private funding, thereby freeing the inadequate funds voted for it in the budget every year for use in providing other social services. As the Senate President said in 2017, even if N30bn was provided, it still would not be enough because that road needs over N100bn to be completed. In fact, the Senate President even hosted a series of meetings attended by the Ministers of Works and Finance, chairman of Bi-Courteny and some other potential investors.
Recall that the new thinking in the government that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway should now be funded from the Sovereign Wealth Fund is in line with the realisation that funding of major infrastructure projects should not be restricted to the trickles from yearly budgets. We understand that Punch newspaper, which is located on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, has a personal reason to want the project to be completed on time and the newspaper should rest assured that the National Assembly members share this sentiment too. However, the best way to get that important road well-funded or completed on time is to get private sector funds pumped into it. After all, that road can pay back the cost of its construction.
What’s more, The PUNCH claims that the legislature has failed to offer a meaningful legislative solution to insecurity across the nation, without taking into account the fact that this legislature, last year, hosted a security summit held in Abuja. As part of the outcomes of this summit attended by key stakeholders, the Senate recently passed the Police Trust Fund Bill, and the Police Reforms Bill, and these efforts were even commended by the current acting Inspector General of Police and some other influential publications. These bills, which aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Nigeria Police to deal with internal security challenges, through increased funding, provision of additional stations and accommodation, and the procurement of further machinery and equipment, if signed into law by the President, will exceptionally revolutionise the operations of the Nigeria Police Force.
Olaniyonu is Special Adviser to Senate President
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