When Dogara took on committee chairmen

From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja

ON Monday 14th December, the House of Representatives held a retreat for chairmen and deputies of its standing committees. Though some might say the retreat organ­ised by the National Institute for Legisla­tive Studies is a little belated as many of the committees have not only held their inau­gural meetings but also have gone ahead to meet with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for which they will carry out oversight , last Monday’s event can be described as one that the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara laid down his terms of engagement.

To say that the Dogara made known his high expectations of the heads of com­mittees is stating the obvious as he didn’t mince words on demanding that his col­leagues do things and conduct themselves differently.

While noting that the retreat will expose committee leaders to the rudiments of pro­cessing bills and resolutions of the House through the Committees, the intricacies of Committee work such as policy and proj­ect oversight, and how to conduct Public Hearings, Dogara emphasised that, “The most critical aspect has to do with the way and manner both chairmen and committee members comport and conduct themselves as they are expected to project a good im­age of the House, always”.

Many wouldn’t blame the Speaker for trouble shooting as recent history is replete with cases of committees chairmen and sometimes members being involved in corruption scandals with heads of MDAs alleging that lawmakers demanded for bribes and contracts right from the stage of budget defence to its implementation the whole year.

It therefore didn’t come as a surprise that Dogara warned his audience last Monday against receiving bribes as it could lead to scandals. He categorically stated that ask­ing for or receiving bribes would rob the committees of the moral authority to fight corruption.

He said, “In exercising these enormous powers, you should strive to live above board. You must not succumb to persons or institutions that will seek to influence your judgment through corrupt means. If you take bribe from any person, you will im­pugn and destroy the integrity of the House as an institution. You will also scandalise yourself. You will compromise the image and the mission of the 8th Assembly.

“ I wish to warn that we should avoid be­ing dragged into the murky waters of cor­ruption because we cannot beat the swines that specialize in wresting there, to their own game. Once you are sucked in there, you are dead in the waters. Corrupt prac­tices is and will never be part of the Legis­lative Agenda of the 8th Assembly”.

The Speaker who stressed that it was better for chairmen and deputies to reject bribes also called on his colleagues to make efficiency their watchword.

He said: “The retreat further aims at pro­viding an opportunity to exchange views on the role of Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen in strengthening House committees and in­creasing their effectiveness towards achiev­ing the objectives we outlined for ourselves in the Legislative Agenda of the 8th House. Chairmen and their deputies should lead their various Committees in the war against corruption and graft.

“Our investigative activities must be based only on the need to expose corrup­tion, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of Laws within our leg­islative competence and in the administra­tion of funds appropriated by the National Assembly.

“Honourable Colleagues, an efficient and effective legislature depends on the quality of its committees. The importance of the Legislature and legislative commit­tees towards strengthening democratic governance in Nigeria cannot be overem­phasized. The success of the legislature depends on the efficiency and effectiveness of its committees which in turn depends on the ability of committee chairs and deputy chairs to successfully direct the business of committees. It should be noted that parlia­mentary committees are the major loci of innovation in the process and structures of parliaments”.

In what has become a kind of sing-song for the Speaker, he called on all the chairmen not minding that 45 of them are of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to to be agents of the ruling All Progres­sives Party (APC) change mantra.

He said: “I have always maintained that the change promised Nigerians can only endure if it is anchored on legislation and not mere policy. ‘Change itself must be regulated, so that our people would not face the dangers of unregulated change.’ In this respect, legislative committees, as the engine room of our legislative activities, can compliment the change efforts of the executive.

“The committees of the House, of which you are chairs and deputy chairs, must become drivers of the change process espoused and expounded by the current administration geared towards providing physical and economic infrastructure as well as social policies that would provide opportunities for all Nigerians, especially the poor and the vulnerable.

“ For emphasis, our chairmen and their deputies should lead their various com­mittees in the war against corruption and graft”.

Citing the provisions of Section 88(1)(2) of the Constitution along with Section 89 which further empowers the National Assembly to summon persons Nigeria to give evidence, procure documents, and issue warrants to compel the attendance of a reluctant witness, Dogara added that, “The Committee on Rules and Business must ensure that henceforth all resolutions requiring investigative hearing must have a legislative purpose stated in the resolu­tion itself, in order to pass judicial scrutiny, where necessary”.

The selection of committee chairmen and deputies is one issue that caused crisis in the House with APC lawmakers accus­ing the Speaker of rewarding PDP mem­bers, majority of whom supported him during the contest for the number four of­fice with juicy committees. The aggrieved APC lawmakers said the Speaker sidelined those who held on to instructions of the ruling party that they back Femi Gbajabi­amila who settled for the position of House Majority Leader. It indeed was an unprec­edented situation with the APC having 48 chairmen and the PDP, 45.

But on the Monday November 9th joint inauguration of committees, the Speaker addressed the issue of juicy commit­tees. “The media has been awash with how some members got ‘Juicy Committees’ and some didn’t. Let me use this opportunity to restate that there is nothing like juicy Com­mittee or non-juicy Committees. I person­ally do not understand what is meant by that. If it means, opportunity to contrib­ute, we can assure you that every member of a Committee would enjoy ample and equal opportunity. Every Committee of the House is very important and is designed to handle specific functions for the House and on behalf of the Nigerian people who elected us”.

Though the Speaker had dismissed the talk on juicy committees and many of those that complained of the ruling party losing out on Grade-A committees have chosen not to speak out of recent, there are still un­dercurrents. It is therefore understandable that Dogara last Monday spoke on the criteria of selecting chairmen or deputies of standing committees. According to him, heading a committee means more work and not just an appointment to show the impor­tance of those selected. Dogara asked that the chairmen and deputies work like Gen­erals.

“My honourable colleagues, you must see your appointment as chairmen and dep­uty -chairmen as a call to duty and service. You must resolve to use your appointment as a vehicle towards contributing your quo­ta to the rapid development of our country, Nigeria. While your appointment, is cer­tainly not patronage, since you are all emi­nently qualified, it is undeniably however, a privilege since not every House member is a chairman or deputy-chairman” he stated.

“Permit me to use this opportunity to em­phasis that leaders of various Committees, are the Generals entrusted by the House to marshal our various Committees to victory in the various fields assigned to them. Your tools of war are the Constitution of the Fed­eral Republic of Nigeria, 1999; The Stand­ing Orders of the House; the Practices, Customs, and Precedents of the House; the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act; The Legislative Agenda of the House and other relevant laws and rules”, he fur­ther said.

Dogara didn’t have a smooth ride to the office of Speaker. He also had to dig deep to survive the battle of wits that followed the nominations of chairmen and deputies of committees. Despite the topsy-turvy start to his tenure as Speaker, Dogara has never hidden his intention of having firm control over the House, neither has he shied away from reining -in his colleagues.

Though he didn’t mention it this time around, during the the November 9th joint inauguration of committees, the Speaker in his speech disclosed that there would be a mid-term review of the performance of heads of committees. Daily Sun findings show that most committee chairmen and their deputies didn’t take the threat lightly with many of them wanting to be seen as carrying out their duties. This is even as some of those who lost out are looking to see if the Speaker will wield the big stick as promised so that they could become ben­eficiaries by taking the place of under per­forming chairmen and deputies.

If those waiting in the wings are viewed as delayed trouble by observers, House Committee Chairman on Media, Abulrazak Namdas and Publicity told Daily Sun that the leadership of the House doesn’t see them as such. “Let me tell you, it is natural for any leader, not only in the National Assembly to conduct assessments from time to time. Even parents assess their children. As a leader when you give some­body a job and you feel that he cannot be assessed, you are not a leader”, he said.
“The (mid-term) assessment is not about witch hunting anybody. If you are given a committee and you are not doing your job, it will be glaring and Nigerians want the country to move forward. It is not just about changing people. Besides, the Speaker has not said anything about changing anyone, he has confidence in members of the House and the chairmen of committees to do a good job. But if you are given a responsi­bility, you have to be assessed” he further explained.

Share on Google Plus