Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), yesterday, knocked outgoing Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; and the entire 9th National Assembly for providing legislative backing to the borrowing spree embarked upon by the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari and plunging Nigeria into unprecedented debt profile and economic woes arising from debt repayment.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko, asked the about-to-be inaugurated 10th National Assembly not to become a rubber stamp appendage of the executive arm of government, thereby endorsing anything proposed by the executive at the expense of the Nigerian people.
The group warned against the dominance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in both chambers, saying it will be catastrophic to the nation.
“Thus, opposition parties must do all they can to ensure that only the best men and women win top positions in the Assembly so that puppets won’t drive the legislative arm into the pit by rubberstamping anything brought by the President Bola Tinubu administration.”
Lawan, had Wednesday said he was not bothered that the 9th National Assembly under his leadership was tagged rubberstamp Assembly, saying despite misgivings by some Nigerians over the cordial relationship with the executive, 112 bills out of those passed by the 9th parliament were assented to by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Onwubiko said, “The explanations of Senator Ahmad Lawan are so unfortunate and abysmal. During his time as Senate President, the Buhari administration ran Nigeria into the pit as Lawan ensured he approved every single nonsensical loan by the then government.”
He said it is shameful that the Buhari government moved Nigeria’s debt profile from N42tn to N77tn and this has had attendant effects on debt servicing, which rose from N1.06tn in 2015 to N5.24tn as of 2022 and debt-service-to-revenue ratio grew from 29 per cent to 96 per cent, these data are according to the Budget Office.
Under Buhari, the Monetary Policy Rate rose from 12.5 per cent in 2015 to 18 per cent in April 2023 even as inflation rate galloped to 22.5 per cent, while food inflation galloped to 24 per cent as of April 2023. Unemployment rose from 10.4 per cent in 2015 to 33.4 per cent in 2020 under Buhari as multidimensional poverty and jobless youths continue to rise into tens and hundreds of millions.
“The 10th NASS must avoid being remote-controlled from Aso Rock by Tinubu and his newly emerging cabals for independence of legislature is vital for nation building, strengthening of democratic institutions, amongst others.
“The 10th NASS must ensure zero tolerance to contract scams by members. The Tinubu government must avoid meddling in the affairs of the legislature, face the hydra-headed monster of terrorism, banditry, herdsmen attacks, unstable economy, unemployment, amongst others.
“He must also ensure his cabinet is devoid of corrupt officials who contributed to plunging Nigeria in the latest ranking of the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International in January 2023,” Onwubiko said.
