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SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 29, 2020,PAGE 13
RECESSION:
NASS may reduce 428 federal
ministries, depts, agencies
-- Reps spokesperson
•Says those querying legislature’s budget
of N128bn, lawmakers ‘jumbo’ salaries
unintelligent
•‘How we will review Constitution’
•#EndSARS: Our position on protesters
By Levinus Nwabughiogu
The National Assembly is contemplating a reduction in the number of federal ministries,
departments and agencies (MDAs) in the country to save cost of running government,
according to Hon. Benjamin Kalu (Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State), spokesman for
the House of Representatives.
There are at least 428 federal MDAs in Nigeria. Kalu spoke to Sunday Vanguard on
the heels of the second economic recession in Nigeria in five years.
“To be honest, some of the MDAs are mere duplications and the National
Assembly is looking at them. We can consolidate on the functions of
the MDAs to reduce cost”, he said.
The spokesperson also speaks on how NASS will carry out
constitutional amendment, the legislature’s budget of N128billion,
lawmakers’ ‘jumbo’ salaries, the backlash against protesters
involved in #EndSARS and the role federal lawmakers will play
in rebuilding states where properties were destroyed by hoodlums
in the course of the protests among other issues. Excerpts:
What’s your assessment of the 2021
budget defense sessions? Do you
entertain any misgiving?
I must commend the executive for taking
the budget presentation and defense
seriously the same way the head of
government took it seriously and kept to
the calendar of presenting it early enough
for us to work on it and get it back to the
public at the beginning of next year and I
am impressed that they took a cue from there
and they have been coming. We just met with
the Minister of Agriculture who did not send
his perm sec to us. He came himself. The
other day we met with Works and Housing
Minister Fashola who did not send anybody
but came himself and I can go on and on.
The Minister of Health was with us the other
day. All hands appear to be on deck to reverse
the budget calendar from what it used to be
to January to December in 2021 which is
healthy for our economy.
On the other side, what I have not observed
so well is the impact of what COVID-19
brought on the budget. I have not seen the
MDAs integrating the innovations
introduced by COVID-19 in their budgets
which include the use of technology to reduce
cost especially on virtual meetings to reduce
trips and travels. If you put the amounts in
the MDAs together and the amount
appropriated yearly on local travels and
international travels, you will see that it is
very huge and with technology we can save
50% of the amount we are currently spending
on local trips and the rest of them. I have
also not seen reductions in international
travels. Most of the universities across the
world, Harvard, Oxford, have gone online
for their trainings, it doesn’t reduce their
credibility, it doesn’t reduce the efficiency
of the work they are doing with their students
and so why are we not adopting that
approach to training?
I have also seen that some people come to
us not prepared. They come with the mindset
that the National Assembly don’t know what
to look out for, they are not as thorough as
they ought to be and so they will do any
garbage in, garbage out and they expect us
to accept it, the numbers are not adding up,
their extra budgetary expenses, we don’t do
that; we call them to order and make sure
those things are taken care of. So, generally,
there is a big cooperation between the
National Assembly and the executive in this
budget defense.
There are four hundred and something
agencies. In the course of this budget
presentation, was there any thoughts by
law makers to tinker with the number?
To be honest, some of the agencies are
Do you know that
lawmakers borrow
money to add to what
they get here to be
able to solve the
needs in their various
constituencies?
mere duplications and the National
Assembly is looking at them. We can
consolidate on the functions of the agencies
to reduce cost. The present economic
leadership philosophy is to block leakages
of revenue and reduce cost of governance
and also finish up projects that are ongoing
as against getting involved in brand new
ones. Now based on that, it calls for
restructuring where necessary to achieve
cost reduction expectations of this
government. There are two or three agencies
that could come under one, it is one of the
things the House is going to look at through
motions and resolutions or the Acts that
established some of the agencies and see
how we can collapse them by repealing or
amending the Acts for the sake of better
control, efficient work and higher
productivity as well as reducing cost and
that is the yearning of Nigerians because
we have so many petitions telling us that we
have too many agencies doing similar jobs.
But you know, it takes time and the situation
was not created by this government.
The budget of the Presidency; of the
President and his Vice on travels is still
high as it used to be in previous years. So
talking about cost reduction, would you
want to reduce that as a parliament or leave
•Kalu
it as it used to be?
Our job as the National Assembly is to be
the watchdog and we have oversight
functions. Our job is to look at the numbers
before us, it doesn’t have to be the President
and the Vice President or the agencies of
government, nevertheless, we deal with the
judiciary as well as the executive, we look at
the numbers that they are bringing to us and
see how workable those numbers are in view
of the challenging times and, if they are
workable, we allow it, but if they are not
sustainable, we say no to them and I am
sure that is why the electorate elected us and
this is for the interest of the people. It is not
an attack, or to create acrimony or rancor;
no, it is for the interest of the tax payers who
have given us that confidence of overseeing,
looking after their hard earned money.
Constitutional amendment is here again
and many Nigerians feel that the
recommendations of the 2014 National
Conference which many think may have
the solution to the clamor for restructuring
should be adopted. How is this
constitutional amendment going to
incorporate some of these yearnings as put
together in the 2014 National Conference?
In amending a Constitution, so many
things come into play and information is
harnessed to educate the framers of the
Constitution, to educate the drafters of the
Constitution, to educate the people
amending the Constitution or reviewers of
the Constitution. Constitution review is not
something you just do, there is a template. It
is a matter of understanding the wishes of
the people. How do you harvest the desires
of the people? It is by going into what has
happened before that was documented. So,
the report of the Constitutional Conference,
if need be, would be called into use, the
opinion of the public, if need be, would be
called into use. Remember, people are going
to send in memoranda and they will be
collated, analyzed and incorporated into the
process. So, no stone is going to be left
unturned during this constitutional
amendment. This constitutional review
committee which I am a member of will
reflect that.
The #EndSARS protests that erupted
recently in parts of the country rattled the
National Assembly and the Presidency,
and the Federal Government appears
poised to prosecute some of the promoters.
Does that sit well with the House?
I don’t think you got the Federal
Government right. The Federal Government
will never prosecute those who are expressing
their rights constitutionally. There is a
difference between those who protested and
those who were vandals. There is a
difference between those who protested and
the honour of what they believe in for there
to be change and as citizens they own that
right; freedom of expression, freedom of
association as allowed by the Constitution.
Nobody can deny them that right. But if in
the expression of that right, you stepped on
the toes of the law, the limitation of your
right is the commencement of the right of
the other person. Therefore in exercising
your freedom of association or freedom of
expression you must have at the back of your
mind the dictates of the law.
So the National Assembly will never
support any attempt to silence those
expressing their rights under the
Constitution, no. But the National Assembly
will support every move against hoodlums.
The real protesters did not destroy
properties, the real protesters did not burn
down houses, the real protesters did not
cause havoc but those ones who came and
infiltrated the camp and started destroying
cars, houses and all the rest of them, they
should be prosecuted and the National
Assembly will support their prosecution.
In rebuilding the worst hit states, what
role will the House play?
It is taking interventions that will enable
the executive to have the backing of the law
to specially intervene where was greatly
impacted. So any collaboration that the
executive may demand from the House, we
are willing to do it to make sure we rebuild
our nation.
How much does an average lawmaker
in National Assembly take home as salary?
I am not the institution. The institution is
sitting on a tripod; the Senate, the
Management and the House of
Representatives. My answer will be different
from the answer of a senator and the answer
of the person that is working in
Management. The Revenue Mobilization
and Fiscal Commission; these things are
tabled there. Go to the Management, the
Clerk of the National Assembly is here and
request for it and it will be given to you. But
suffice to say it is very painful that Nigerians
are not asking the right questions. We are
known all over the world as very smart
people and how come when it comes to this
topic we pretend unintelligent? Why do we
have this question coming up over and over
again because of N128billion allocated to
an arm of government, not a ministry, not a
department of government, not an agency
of government, a full arm of government?
The budget of Nigeria, if shared to the three
arms of government, do you think the
National Assembly will be getting
N128billion? This arm is the same as the
executive arm and the judiciary. They are at
the same level, on the same platform. None
is greater than the other and Nigerians have
not deemed it right to look at the percentage
representation of their money, where it is
going to and they are focusing on
N128billion out of N13trillion. N128billion
is about 0.8% of the entire national budget.
Now tell me, you are looking for your money
and you leave 99.02% of the money and you
are spending two, three years looking at
0.8%? Nigerians should start asking the right
questions. They should ask what is
happening to the 99.02% which is with the
executive and these agencies that you
mentioned.
Do you know that law makers borrow
money to add to what they get here to be
able to solve the needs in their various
constituencies because the expectations
are high and the resources are low?
•In part two of interview next week, the
House spokesperson speaks on the
defection of Governor Dave Umahi of
Ebonyi State from PDP to APC and the
politics of Igbo presidency among other
issues