By Polycarp Onwubiko
Not all Nigerians are untutored in the apparent intricacies of the Constitution. Ab initio, the introduction of the so-called "Constituency Projects" was criticized by a cross section of the people but president under the presidential style of government is very powerful and throws his weight about especially in crude countries like Nigeria.
It is crystal clear that
Government is made up of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, all are
independent but coordinate. The checks and balances is to check the excesses of
each other to ascertain good governance and Rule of Law. The Executive is
responsible for Budget and the Legislative arm is to vet the budget and advise
the president appropriately and NOT to initiate provisions in the budget for
their respective Constituencies.
Legislature is meant for law
making and oversight functions to ascertain that the projects and programmes in
the budget are executed to the satisfaction of the beneficiaries. But what have
we observed in Nigeria since the civilian administration from 1999? Curious
enough, one of the presidents caved in to the pressure of the legislators to
insert projects in their Constituencies to prove to their Constituents that
they are attracting projects to the Constituencies. That is absolutely wrong.
Sunday Sun Columnist, Kenneth
Okonkwo in his article captioned "Anarchy looms", March 24, 2024 exposed
the fraud by the Legislative arm of government in arm-twisting the president in
the examination of the budget. He taught Nigerians that the legislators have no
Constitutional right to insert the socalled constituency projects in the budget
even as it has been a nest of MIND-BOGGLING corruptive practice by which
billions of public funds find way into the bank accounts of the Legislators.
Hear him:
"The Executive has the
sole duty to initiate heads of expenditures (section 8 (1) (2) of the
constitution. The job of the Legislature is to approve or disapprove not to
initiate heads of expenditures
"This offends the
constitutional principle of checks and balances if the Legislators initiate
expenditures and approve them".
***Comment:
The argument is as clear as
crystal. President Tinubu should cancel the provisions for the Constituency
Projects in the 2024 budget because the monstrous bungling and illegalities
cannot be continued in Nigeria. Head or tail, Constituency Projects have been a
gargantuan drain on the public funds in the federal government and state
governments.
Killing
Of Soldiers In Ugheli, Let The World Know The Truth
Nigerian government and burying
of truth. It is not the job of the Nigerian government and burying of truth. It
is not the job of the soldiers to settle land dispute. The police invites them
when the crises overwhelm them. the crises overwhelm them. President Tinubu
committed blunder by asking the soldiers to arrest the killers of the soldiers
in Ugheli instead of directing the inspector -general of police whose job it is to make
investigation.
Of course the soldiers are
never trained for investigation of crime; what they are trained is to shoot and
destroy things even going mad when their colleague is killed. Nobody is happy
about the fate that befell the soldiers in Ugheli but Nigeria ought to be a
lawful country with Rule of Law guiding everybody, groups and public officials
like the soldiers. Soldiers are not independent of their own, they are
subordinate to the Federal Constitution and the law on governance.
The monstrous bungling by the
former president, Olusegun Obasanjo in rolling out military tanks that levelled
Odi community in Rivers state and Zakibiam in Niger state should not have been
a model. Replicating the grossly irresponsible and irrational act by the
military depicted a country that pay lip service to Rule of Law.
President Tinubu has to set up
a Commission of Enquiry to know why the soldiers instead of the police were
chosen to meditate on the land dispute among the two communities in Ugheli. Who
authorized the drafting of the soldiers which was an arbitrary act which has to
be severely sanctioned by law. Why the police didn’t come in to ascertain the
causes so that when they fail to resolve the matter or when tension grows
beyond their capability they beckon on the soldiers, as the law provides.
Until the country gets it right
through Restructuring the warped Federation and reinventing true federal system
of government with decentralized security architecture, the monstrous bungling
and groping in the dark in the name of governance will surely lead the country
to disastrous end
Polycarp Onwubiko, media
commentator, writes from Awka, Anambra State.
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