Some Nigerian federal lawmakers are demanding bribes as conditions
for passing the 2018 budgets of federal Ministries, Departments and
Agencies (MDAs), some heads of these agencies have told PREMIUM TIMES.
The officials say the unceasing demand for gratification is
responsible for the reluctance of a number of heads of MDAs to honour
invitations by Senate and House of Representatives committees to defend
their budgets.
Four officials of notable MDAs, who spoke to this newspaper in
separate interviews alleged that the senators and members of the House
are desperate and bent on shaking them down because ”the 2018 budget is
the last they would consider before the next general elections”.
“Many of them need money for re-election and they see this
budget approval process as a way of finding the resources to prosecute
their forthcoming elections,” the director-general of one agency said.
The Senate had in February issued a one-week ultimatum to MDAs, who
were yet to submit details of their proposed spending to appear before
the various committees to defend their budgets.
The lawmakers accused ministers and heads of MDAs of
ill-preparedness to attend scheduled meetings, ignoring invitations and
sometimes not providing relevant information needed by the lawmakers to
carry out their jobs of scrutinising the proposals.
However, three weeks after the ultimatum was issued, majority of the MDAs are yet to comply, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.
In fact, the situation got so bad that President Muhammadu Buhari
had to issue a directive to the heads of agencies ordering them to avail
the National Assembly of their budget details as well as attend budget
defence sessions.
The head of a key agency, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES but does not want his name mentioned for fear of victimisation, said: “I can confirm to you that National Assembly members are brazenly harassing MDAs for bribes, using budget process and oversight.
“They have become very desperate this time. They ask pointedly
and try to make life difficult for those who don’t play ball by
summoning them endless times, asking irrelevant questions, asking for
unrelated documents.
“I think they are desperately looking for money for election. I
think they have also seen that they could do all these and get away
with it, as the executive is not really pushing on anti-corruption
against them.
“Until this year, we have managed to manage ourselves. They did
not ask for money directly and we did not give. Occasionally, they
asked that we employ someone or some people or give contract to some
companies. For those pointed demands, we would explain why we could not
meet their demands and they understood.
“I had no doubt that some MDAs were even giving them money
without their asking. I wanted us to be seen as one of the agencies that
don’t give and hoped that they would let us be.
“But this year is different. They have become more direct and
more brazen. Their new practice is to ask the chief executive to wait
behind and go see their chair or their deputy chair. And they pointedly
ask, what are you giving us?
“If they sense you are not playing ball, they do everything to
frustrate you, ask you questions and not allow you to answer, ask you to
come back over and over.”
He said fear of victimisation was not allowing most of the agencies affected to cry out for help.
“I am sure other heads of agencies are going through the same
but I don’t know who will talk on or off the record. As I said earlier,
they are desperately looking for money for primaries and elections, and
they have seen that the executive is not really bothered about bringing
them to order.”
Another chief executive of an agency spoke along the same line, saying his experience with the lawmakers has been ‘frustrating’.
“These guys (the lawmakers) are not even afraid anymore,” he said. “They
keep demanding cash and asking us to insert projects in our budgets for
them. I can’t definitely satisfy their needs because I don’t want to go
to jail because of some frustrated greedy lot.
“With all the millions they collect every month, they are still not contented.”
The MDAs had earlier been defended by Ben Akabueze,
director-general of the Budget Office of the Federation, who said in a
statement that the budget was submitted with every details the lawmakers
need to do their work.
He said the budget proposal included details of all federal MDAs
based on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information
System (GIFMIS) templates suggesting that the scrutiny by lawmakers
”should be an easy task”.
Despite Mr. Akabueze’s intervention, the MDAs are still going through a tough time with the committees.
Another head of MDA, who spoke about his experience wants the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intervene.
“Your paper will help us a great deal if it can help us alert the EFCC of what we are going through,” he said.
Yet another MDA official said, “Demanding bribes is something
that has been endemic over a long period of time. This thing started
since (year) 2000, the first budget.
“All these other things they used to get in the past, under
this government they can’t get those things. The MDAs are also afraid
because the president is very serious. Any MDA that does nonsense and is
discovered you know…
“Even in a public hearing at the House of Reps. They
intimidated a man. A lot of these members of the various committee, both
senate and Reps, wanted bribe but the man refused to oblige them. It’s
just intimidation. MDAs are afraid and these people (Senate and Reps
committees) are not relenting.
“All these things that they said they didn’t do, MDAs have done
these things. A lot of them have gone there to defend. They are just
dragging this thing because they want to get extra. Election is coming
that is why.
“The MDAs are in a dire state. They will not flout the
directive of the president and these people are just insisting. A lot of
them are not coming back to the National Assembly. They want to make as
much money as they can make and those that feel they can come back,
they need money in buying people, either delegates or voters.”
With the cat and mouse relationship between the heads of the
agencies and the lawmakers, the fate of the N8.6 trillion budget
presented by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2017 hangs in the
balance, it appears.
Also, the wish of the executive to resort to the January-December calendar year budget seems unachievable.
In a belated move to salvage the situation, President Buhari last
week ordered ministers and heads of MDAs to appear before the National
Assembly to defend their proposed 2018 budget estimates.
The order was given at the end of a meeting the president had with
the leadership of the National Assembly led by Senate President Bukola
Saraki.
Denial
Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Appropriation, Sonny Ogbuoji (Ebonyi-PDP), denied the allegations
levelled against his colleagues.
“It’s a big lie,” he said. “The president has directed
them to submit to the committees. If they submit and the committee does
not receive it, they should blow it open. This should not be a secret.
It’s a big lie. Such things (bribery) should not be entertained.”
Mr. Ogbuoji had on February 28 called the attention of the senate
to the refusal of MDAs to either submit details of their 2018 budget
proposal or their amendments as requested by Senate committees.
He said the allegation was an ‘escape route’ concocted by the MDAs to cover up.
“People are looking for escape route for their ineptitude. If
they say they are demanding bribe, its human beings that are demanding
the bribes. They should say the person’s name. There should be no cover
up. Nobody should entertain such story.
“If it is me, they should call my name. Hiding it is like
virus. If you cover virus, it will never die but the moment you expose
it to the atmosphere, it will die. They should say which committee is
demanding it. Let them not just say and give a wrong impression.”
***
Source: Premium Times
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