Sanusi: Too tough to handle
A QUESTION OF PERCENTAGE What went wrong? In an attempt to drive home a point about the unconscionable overhead of government, Sanusi stirred up a hornets’ nest when he told a gathering at the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, last weekend, that the National Assembly ‘overhead’ expenditure constituted a monstrous 25 per cent of the […]
A QUESTION OF PERCENTAGE
What went wrong? In an attempt to drive home a point about the unconscionable overhead of government, Sanusi stirred up a hornets’ nest when he told a gathering at the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, last weekend, that the National Assembly ‘overhead’ expenditure constituted a monstrous 25 per cent of the total government overhead in 2010. If a pie chart of government expenditure is drawn to show the overheads of all government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), a quarter of it would be labelled ‘National Assembly overhead.’ The swift image this would throw up is that 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives, a total of 469 Nigerians, earn so much over and above the total civil service work force, including ministers!
In order to denounce Sanusi and, probably, bring him to ridicule, the Senators summoned the CBN governor before the cameras of the Nigerian Television Authority, interrogated him to substantiate his arithmetic. The 2010 budget book says the country’s budget is N4.6 trillion, out of which the National Assembly’s expenditure is N134 billion. With these figures, the National Assembly’s expenditure would amount to 6.164 per cent of the total 2010 budget, a far cry from the CBN governor’s 25 percent. But can we explain away the brazen and inherent oddity in the reality that we spend N134 billion to service only 469 persons, while the remainder of us, over 150 million, share only N4.6 trillion? Many Nigerians were happy that Sanusi gave it to them straight from the shoulder, adamantly, and refused to be cowed and brought to ridicule. Newspaper reports at the weekend indicated that Sanusi’s figures were correct afterall. The Federal Government’s Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy paper shows that overhead budget for 2010 is N536.27bn, of which the National Assembly is N136,159,768.12 or 25% of the total sum.
SANUSI, NOT THE FIRST WHISTLE-BLOWER
Malam Sanusi was not the first whistle-blower in this matter. Journalists have been shouting themselves hoarse over this inexplicable misnomer. For instance, on July 13, 2008, Sunday Trust, published a lead story with the headline: “Jumbo Pay: NASS Members Earn N66 billion; each may earn N10 million monthly.” We had the instinct that the lawmakers earned much more than this figure I put out to the public. I had only computed the insignificant figures obtained from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which said the Senate President earned N16,395,800.00 annually, while the Speaker of the House of Representatives earned N12,261,694.50. Each lawmaker, on the average, goes home with N1 million monthly. The other emoluments included millions of naira in constituency projects, vehicles, accommodation, furniture, severance package, etc. After this, we worked out the quarterly allocations to the lawmakers, put at an average of N42 million per House of Representatives member and N45 million for Senators, sums that each of them takes four times in a year. With these, we did an approximation to arrive at N10 million earning per lawmaker per month.
However, we were shocked that in spite of our despondence for not getting water-tight figures, some lawmakers complained bitterly that Sunday Trust had set them up against members of their constituencies. But, we were not moved. Recently, two lawmakers donated N300 million to the University of Maiduguri. Is this from their salaries? As we enter the election year, we encounter lawmakers who engage in shocking expenditure, like purchasing a hundred vehicles to be distributed to political leaders in their constituencies in order to beat their competitors to it. How did they earn so much money to pay up for those vehicles? From this, it is apparent to the blind that these lawmakers are not serving Nigerians. Conversely, Nigeria is actually working for them. If we are to attach monetary values to their warped debates, their absence from the chambers, and their complicity and complacency to their task of supervising government ministries, departments and agencies, we will get very ireful because they earn too much for a song.
On Monday, June 21, this year, Businessday newspaper did a comparative study of what the leaders of our National Assembly earned, viz-a-viz what their American and British counterparts earned. The report revealed that David Mark, as Senate President, earned an equivalent of $3.7 million per annum, while Bod-Casey, the US Senate leader, earned $193,400 per annum. On his part, the Leader of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords earned $136,031 per annum. The report indicated further that while our own Dimeji Bankole earned $1.5 million as Speaker; Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of US parliament, earned $208,100, and John Bercow, speaker of UK parliament earned $136,031. Can we prove that our legislators are more committed to their jobs than the US and UK parliamentarians?
WHAT DOES OMISORE MEAN?
Casting of stones at journalists. Denials. These were the reactions to these figures in Businessday. That reminds one of Senator Omisore’s preamble before the senators began to grill Sanusi last Wednesday. The senator commanded the CBN governor to authenticate his 25% earning allegations (only) from the 2010 budget. The senator’s warning could be put thus: ‘if Senator Omisore wanted Sanusi to confine his defense to the provisions of the budget, it meant that there were some extra-budgetary sources of income available to lawmakers which Sanusi should not allude to while making his defense.’
If there are extra-budgetary incomes for lawmakers, we should ask, how legal are such earnings? As one mulls over this perspective, it becomes clearer why the systems are not working. Bizarre and puzzling compromises between our lawmakers and the executive have given liver to sleaze and wastes that have slowed down the wheel of development in Nigeria.
Our lawmakers are never worried by the incongruity in their income and expenditure. They live in unaffordable houses; maintain fleets of cars; display their narcissism, and snigger or even fall down laughing at those who went to the polls to elect them.
How do we solve this ugly financial obesity among our lawmakers? It’s simple. The antidote to the ‘ailment’ is within the legislative assembly. The lawmakers should enact a law that comprehensively designs the borders of their incomes. The chambers should supervise the lifestyles of their members to ensure that those who take toxic funds are sanctioned. Without such measures, the public perception of the legislature will continue to be negative.