Senate is undermining House of Reps – Sarkin Adar

Daily Trust: The House passed a bill to amend the Public Procurement Act last week. Can you shed more light on that?

Musa Sarkin Adar: The bill is a very good one, and I think it’s one of the most important bills we’ve passed in this legislative calendar for two reasons. First, it has stipulated the time frame and increased the mobilization percentage that should be given to contractors from 15 to 50 percent. 15 percent is quite unrealistic going by the market prices of items used in every contract, whether it is construction or supply.

For example, if you’re given a contract of two classrooms at N10 million and you’re given 15 percent of that, which is N1.5m, what can it do for you? I’m happy it was passed. It should have been more than that if not because of fear of default by many contractors. 

Defaulters’ penalty is what I consider inadequate. It should have been five years not two years jail term because some people can collect the money to go and solve their problems and go to jail for two years and come out. 

DT: There were controversies during the last budget and it was signed into law in May. This is March and the National Assembly is yet to pass it. Has anything changed between the last budget and this one?

Sarkin Adar: What has changed maybe is what I will call semi-transparency, because the budget hasn’t been concluded. I don’t want to preempt the outcome of the process. But so far, there has been significant improvement in the process compared to all the previous years. It is after the process is finished that we’ll know if it meets the integrity test of people like us who have been calling for transparency in the system. So far, we’re satisfied with the way the process is going.

For example, it has now been made a rule that no committee chairman will submit the report of the budget of his committee to the appropriation committee without the endorsement of two-third of members of that committee, which was not the case in the previous arrangement. 

Last year, the Senate President promised to make the budget of the National Assembly public, but he failed to do that. I’m not happy with him. He should have kept to his word, because he’s an important stakeholder in the country. I know him. He was my friend. A good politician should always make his word his bond. Why should the National Assembly budget be secret? We’re part of the public. Is there anything we’re afraid of? We scrutinize budgets of other agencies, so why can’t we make ours public?

DT: Why can’t the House do its own even if the Senate President doesn’t do for both? Why don’t you make it a case?

Sarkin Adar: That can be done, but in this circumstance, it’s unachievable. In the first place, what we have is National Assembly budget. It’s from there that you have sub-budgets of the Senate, House of Reps and the management. So, it will be for one of the units to come out alone and say ‘this is my budget’. If the whole National Assembly budget is made known to the public, that answers every question.

As we are now, the House of Reps is almost subsumed by the Senate. Before now, we used to be separate and independent units: the Senate and the House. Each was on its own. Even in the process of legislative activities, one would present a bill or motion, and if it is passed, it would go to the other for concurrence.

Now, there is some level of understanding among the leaders that the House will always follow after the Senate. That was not the case in the past. We used to take independent decisions and opinions irrespective of what the Senate would do.

DT: How has that affected the functions of the House?

Sarkin Adar: Well, it has not really, but some of us are feeling degraded; we’re feeling undermined, honestly. The House is more populous and representative in nature, because about two or three local governments have a representative here. In the Senate, you find 11 or 12 local governments. We’re closer to the grassroots than the senators. We’re also more vibrant, because we have more youth population in our midst. You find out that most of us are below 50. The senators are elderly. Most of them are retirees. 

Our main concern now is that we’re being undermined and not allowed to exhibit our real feelings as youths who want to be aggressive in a progressive way. But the elderly will always want to play safe. In any case, we feel we’re being slowed down in our drive to move this country forward.

DT: It appears all is well in the House because we don’t hear any complaints from members; what’s really happening?

Sarkin Adar: From the beginning till now, all the agitations in the House, with the most famous one coming from the Transparency Group, which I’m a member, still exist. The approach has changed because of the experience of the budget imbroglio of last year in which Abdulmumin Jibrin made certain disclosures that didn’t go down well with the House and as a result was expelled.

The way the executive arm reacted to the issue discouraged some of us from taking further actions from the issue. Abdulmumin made certain allegations against some leadership and the House itself. He was penalized but the House hasn’t investigated those that he made the allegations against.

The presidency kept mute. Nobody said anything, except lately, around November or December when President Buhari said he heard the word ‘padding’ for the first time in about 40 years of his public life. Notwithstanding, he didn’t say whether the padding was done or not. That didn’t say anything. 

DT: Why are the cars the House planned to purchase not yet complete? Only about 50 are said to be on ground…

Sarkin Adar: Personally, I don’t subscribe to our having vehicles, maybe because I have my own personal vehicle. Those members who are keen and interested in the vehicles should go and raise questions on where their vehicles are.

The public should also know what happened. A budget provision was made close to two years ago, but up to now, nothing is here. Where is the money? Is it still there? Was it mopped up by the executive after the expiration of last year’s budget? Or is it because of the rising cost of the dollar against the naira? I don’t bother because with or without a car, I’ll do my official functions.