.As LP lawmakers shun Abure, set to collect SUVs
Anger and disappointment has continued to trail the proposed purchase of 360 brand new SUVs costing N160k each for each member of the National Assembly, at a time when most Nigerians are experiencing so much difficulty just trying to eke out a living, as a result of the rising cost of living in the country.
Former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili had described NASS as’’ the biggest threat to Nigeria’s democracy’’. She made the remark while reacting to the proposed purchase of the SUV’s. She also said that Nigerian youths will soon chase NASS members away due to ‘their serial bad behaviour’.
The former minister made the remark on her official platform X saying ‘’so that vexing news turned out to be accurate. I read the extremely ludicrous and duplicitous statement released by the chairman of the HouseNGR on their insensitive purchase of 360 Toyotal SUVs for themselves. You all had the audacity to spend scarce public resources in luxury cars at a time majority of their citizens cannot feed, transport themselves, pay school fees and hospital bills due to cost of living crisis? At this stage it is evident you want to continue with your serial bad behaviour’’.
Ezekwesili continued, ‘’Since not even one of you fellows at NASS at HouseNGR at NGRSenate saw the heartlessness of that decision to buy 360 new Toyota SUVS for yourselves at this time of severe economic distress of the citizens and country, please know that you all are the biggest threat to our Democracy. Just know that the day cometh and very soon too, when it would be your fed up Nigerian Citizens and not the Military that will rise up and collectively chase all of you grossly irresponsible and insensitive people out of office and very soon too’’.
A former banker and businessman who pleaded anonymity concurred with her’’ I align with Dr. Ezekwesili completely. It is not only ridiculous but ludicrous for the National Assembly to contemplate , talk less of purchasing 360 SUVs for its members. This is at a time that we are allegedly having only a mere $3.9b in our foreign reserves, down from an all high of $36b. Their action smacks of economic sabotage when you also juxtapose this with minimum wage still at N30,000 and exchange rate very much above N1000 per dollar. The National assembly without doubt are behaving most irresponsibly’’.
Another Nigerian, Dr. Anthony Nwafor who resides in South Africa said ‘’ Dr. Ezekwesili is more like a lone voice speaking out and indeed acting altruistically. Nigeria is gifted with lawmakers who ostensibly get stupefied as soon as they are sworn in, otherwise how can any sane person rationalize this collective visceral decision at a time when a lot of sacrifice is expected from them’’.
A lawyer and legal practitioner who also spoke on grounds of anonymity said, ‘’The saddest part of it is that even the assembly members who got into the house with the Labour Party ticket have not found it expedient to speak out about this irresponsibility. That will tell you that all Nigerian politicians are corrupt. They rode on the popularity of Peter Obi and the Labour Party to get into the house and they have already become like their APC and PDP counterparts. Where is the difference then?’’ He asked.
Still speaking on the matter, Dr. Tony Nwafor said ‘’There are so many imponderables in this situation. The lawmakers invidious decision to gift themselves property worth millions of Naira at this austere time when salaries of university lecturers are owed would only confirm my fear of lack of moral imperative that has since swamped and bedeviled our polity and which also has been very difficult if not impossible to exorcise.’’
Asked if the Renewed Agenda of President Tinubu will bring development and progress to Nigerians, Dr. Tony observed ‘’I do think that the current government is an obtuse continuum of the Buhari regime, it lacks what it takes to bring Nigeria to anything close to liberation. The country needs foreign direct investment to thrive, but this concept presupposes a stable and transparent local leadership. To what extent can we boast about this rudimentary quality?
On the issue of Babachir Lawal’s recent criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s political appointments, alleging that Mr. President was rewarding his political supporters with appointments that were not based on competence, the ex- banker opined ‘’I fully agree. The president does not mean well for the country. He is simply rewarding cronies. Many Ministers are a sham. Like the one that wants to sue United Nation or is it the 24yr old boy that was appointed chairman of FERMA, no experience, what a shame’’ .
On the same issue, Dr. Tony Nwafor said ‘’The criticism of Babachir Lawal is quite foxy and is encouraging to hear but coming from a politician, one may then ask whether it is rooted in the love and interest of the country or for something else. Our politicians often speak in foxed tongues. It’s a truism that once they start sounding articulate, its often due to their adversarial dispositions but indeed, there is no other way, Mr. President may show appreciation to his cronies other than maintaining a swollen cabinet in other to accommodate those who participated in whatever manner to bring him to Aso rock’’.
On Babachir Lawals warning that the current APC government was increasingly exhibiting intolerance for free press based on National Broadcasting Corporation NBC recent actions, Dr. Nwafor said ‘’I do agree, despite the hallowed matrix of the constitution and the legislative protection, the citizens of Nigeria continue to suffer undue incursions to their right.
What this simply means is that the people prefer their collective docility to their total freedom. The people’s might may never be properly estimated when it comes to determining their future. The few outspoken ones are often beguiled by their peers and even their community. No wonder the authorities act the way they do.
Still speaking on muzzling the press, Dr. Tony asked ‘’At what point does the society stop resiling and put a stop to impunity? Some have attributed this lack of focus and determination in Nigeria to the fact that ‘Nigeria is a country but not a nation’. The height of our collective disensus critically propels our animus nature they would argue. Simply put, so long as the maddening excesses of men in power are not truncated, the country may never move an inch’’.
Reacting to Lawals allegation, the ex=banker said, ‘’Lawal is very correct, Of course going by a government who tells lies, uses propaganda, we should expect more gaging of the press. We are in deep trouble as a country. What we have is a government that is wrecking the treasury and our foreign reserves’’.
Babachir Lawal had stirred an hornets nest last week when he said that President Tinubu did not win the February 2023 Elections. The former Secretary to the government of the Federation had said that the candidate of the labour party, Peter Obi won the election and that Mr. President came third in the contest. He went on to say that’’ right from the start of the campaigns, Tinubu knew he would not win the election in a free and fair contest, so he decided to go by all means’’. According to him, leadership is all about integrity, sound pedigree, trustworthiness and the ability to unite and instill hope and confidence in the people one seeks to lead,. In these qualities, most Nigerians are in total agreement that Bola has them in very short supply indeed.
APC, spokesman, Felix Morka had blasted Mr. Lawal saying he was a burden to himself and needed counselling. Mr. Morka who defended Mr. President stoutly said ‘’after a long hiatus of licking his wounds from the monumental electoral loss of his candidate, in the last presidential election, Lawal had unabashedly come out again peddling gibberish, rather than learning from his political misadventure and equanimity’’.
.As LP lawmakers shun Abure, set to collect SUVs
However, Labour Party lawmakers in the National Assembly have ignored the advice of the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, not to be a part of the luxury official vehicles being planned for legislators.
Abure had, in a statement on Monday, said the National Assembly leadership was planning to buy a Sport Utility Vehicle worth N160m for each lawmaker.
Abure, who described the alleged plan as insensitive and condemnable given the dire economic situation in the country, urged lawmakers elected on the platform of the Labour Party not to be a part of the profligate spending.
But when asked on Thursday whether LP lawmakers would do as Abure said, the lawmaker representing Delta Aniocha North and South, Ngozi Okolie, said Abure’s demands were unrealistic particularly because he had yet to provide them with alternatives to carry out their jobs.
The LP lawmaker said, “The SUVs are meant to aid our jobs as lawmakers, particularly as it relates to our oversight functions.
“Yes, he can say that the economy is struggling but having one official vehicle as federal lawmakers isn’t frivolous; it’s a necessity.”
Okolie noted that Nigerians were quick to attack lawmakers over things like this whereas politicians at the state level get more benefits than federal lawmakers.
He said, “Commissioners and House of Assembly members get up to two to three of such cars whereas National Assembly members are only getting one car each, yet he (Abure) is complaining and telling us not to collect it. Does he have any to give to us?
“Is he going to give us work tools to carry out our jobs or does he have an alternative for us? Has Abure told the members in his state in Edo, not to take the official vehicles given to them?”
The lawmaker further argued that it was cheaper to buy those vehicles than hire one every time they needed to go on an oversight.
Similarly, the lawmaker representing Igbo Etiti and Uzo-Uwani constituencies in Enugu State, Stainless Nwodo, said President Bola Tinubu deserved commendation for approving such vehicles for lawmakers.
Nwodo said, “National Assembly members should pray for the President and give him three ‘Gbosas’ for his magnanimity to the lawmakers.
“Nobody in the National Assembly is against the SUV, when the SUV comes, we will collect it and use it to bring more benefits to our constituencies; because in the real sense, it is for the constituents.”
The lawmaker added, “I don’t want to believe the chairman of the party said so, because did he give us any vehicle to do our jobs?
“Attributing his reason to economic hardship is pure blackmail. In the first instance, the vehicle is for each constituency, not the personal vehicle for the members.
“Also, we need these SUVs to ply the bad roads in our constituencies when we need to visit them and deliver goodies to them. This is why the Speaker and the Senate President decided that SUVs are better to visit our constituencies.
“My own stance is that I will take the SUV and use it to deliver dividends to my constituents.”
On his part, the lawmaker representing Edo South Senatorial District, Neda Imasuen, said he would wait for the vehicles to arrive before making a decision.
Senator Imasuen said, “I’d urge you to wait until that happens, then we will revisit the issue. I wouldn’t want to count my chickens before they hatch.
“Labour Party has eight senators out of 109 and about 35 in the House of Representatives out of 360. So, I don’t know if it would make any difference if the lawmakers in the party take it or not.
“I don’t think telling them to take or reject would make any difference, I don’t think it would affect anything.
