BANKOLE AND STATE LEGISLATORS

By: Kayode Odunaro

The ideal in a democracy presupposes a delicate balance of powers between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. But too often, particularly in emerging democracies like Nigeria, the executive often wield a preponderance of power with the legislature barley able to check any excess of the executive. This situation, attributable to the relatively slow development of the legislative arm of government, is further compounded when the executive is headed by a leader with dictatorial tendencies, lack of regard to due process and rule of law.

Since May 29, 2007, when the Umaru Yar’Adua became the President and his enunciation of the rule of law and due process as the guiding principle of government, Nigerians are finally moving towards the ideal end of the democratic continuum in relation to check and balances between the executive and the legislature.

The move was further energized with the election of Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole as Speaker of the House of Representatives on the platform of integrity, transparency, accountability and good governance. Fully cognizance of the role of the legislators as representative, lawmakers and overseers of the executive, Rt. Hon. Bankole set a legislative agenda which has not only led to legislative activism particularly in the area of oversight but also a redefinition and deepening of out democracy.

Working on the platform of constructive engagement of the executive at the national level, the Bankole-led House brought a new fillip to the usually routine process of enactment of Appropriation Act, a most portent way of ensuring good governance and democratic development. Treating the 2008 Budget Appropriation process as crucial to the fight against corruption and a tool for laying solid foundation for development, the Bankole-led House was able to discover 16 “secret accounts” with billions of naira not captured by the 2008 Budget as it should. With no skeleton in his own cupboard and in pursuant of his policy of due process, President Yar’Adua ordered their inclusion in the budget proposals.

Similarly, the issue of unspent funds from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) assumed an unprecedented dimension in the 2008 Budget appropriating process. From raising queries by the House, it was discovered that a whopping sum of N450 billion of unspent fund from 2007 Budget was just waiting to be ‘shared’ through bogus contracts by officials as usual. For the first time, this did not happen as the President ordered their inclusion in the 2008 Budget proposal. At different fora, Rt. Hon. Bankole has often wondered what happen to unquantifiable unspent funds in the previous years of our national history.

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The astounding feat in legislation in probably the most important aspect of our life is further complemented by an unprecedented focus on oversight function of the legislature. The Nigerian public has been treated to a barrage of House’s investigation with scandalous revelations in the Power Sector, the Oil sector, the Capital Market and Revenue Generating Agencies among others. For once Nigerians are informed of how previous efforts at development were stultified by monumental graft, mismanagement and even outright stealing. This knowledge on its own obviously would serve as a benchmark to assess future appropriation as well as point a way forward for the present executive to take appropriate actions. No doubt that beyond its developmental imperative, these activities of the legislature at the national level marks a qualitative development of our democratic practice with serious potentials good governance.

It is with this background that Rt. Hon. Bankole has been worried that not much democratic development aimed at deepening the relationship between the executive and legislative is taking place at the lower legislature at the state and local government levels. For Rt. Hon. Bankole, this not only portends a danger our evolving democracy but also has serious repercussions on good governance and development at this important levels of government.

At a national forum for local government legislators recently, the issue of impeachment was raised as a means of the legislators checking the executive. Rt. Hon. Bankole admonished legislators to always see impeachment as the last option describing it as “ a nuclear weapon” that must be use as a last option, if at all. He posited that legislators can avoid the option by rigorously doing their job in terms of their power of appropriation and oversight. If this is done faithfully, legislators may not need to do any impeachment while achieving the desired goal of good governance and checking executive excesses routinely. Rt. Hon. Bankole counseled legislators at lower level of governance to ask questions on funds they appropriates for development projects adding that most heads of the executive are likely to cooperate as most of the grafts are committed without their knowledge or approval.

Similarly, at the recent NBA Annual General Meeting/Conference, Rt. Hon. Bankole raised the issue of state legislatures not doing enough to hold their executives accountable in the use of huge resources that are allocated to that tier of government, particularly the oil producing states of the Niger Delta. Rt. Hon. Bankole was of the view that if legislators at these levels are up to the task, a lot of developmental challenges facing places like Niger Delta and elsewhere would have been a thing of the past.

In other words, Rt. Hon. Bankole believes that our democracy and developmental process would fare better if such standard as the rigorous process of discovering “secret accounts”; ensuring unspent budgetary funds are not frittered away at the end of each budget year; and serious oversights are carried out at all levels of government.

In Nigeria today, it would be a new day when state legislators perform the kind of feats that hallmark the legislature at the federal level particularly at the House of Representatives. And as Rt. Hon. Bankole assured the Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, when he led a delegation on a capacity building tour to the House, state legislators can count on the support of the National Assembly in carrying out their constitutional functions in the interest of the people.

Chief Kayode Odunaro

Special Adviser, Communications to the Speaker

House of Representatives.