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Hunger In The Land, Christian Elders Cry Out
Decry Tinubu’s participation in Arab-Islamic Summit
The Nigerian Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) has raised concern over the biting hunger in Nigeria which, it said, has continued to fuel corruption in the country.
For instance, the organisation said the government should take immediate action against the extortion of money by security agents from those transporting foodstuff across the country.
The Chairman of NCEF and former Deputy Governor of Taraba State, Dr Samuel Danjuma Dani, in a statement issued in Abuja said various security agents mount check points on major roads all over the country demanding various levies from those transporting foodstuff.
According to NCEF, the illegal levies add to the price of foodstuff in the market, advising that extortion in check points must be dismantled.
NCEF also criticised the participation of President Bola Tinubu in the Arab-Islamic Summit in Saudi Arabia, in November 2024, saying it is “a disturbing signal misrepresenting the constitutional status of Nigeria.”
Gani said rather than promote the unity and secularity of the country, the President’s action deepened religious divide in Nigeria.
Apart from Gani, other members of NCEF are Pastor Bosun Emmanuel (Secretary), Dr. Saleh Hussaini, Vice Chairman (North); Elder Shyngle Wigwe, Vice Chairman (South); Mrs. Osaretin Demuren, Hon. Treasurer; Prof. Joseph Otubu, Dr. (Mrs) Kate Okparaeke, Dr. Ayo Abifarin, Gen. Zamani Lekwot (rtd), Hon. Justice James Ogebe, JSC (rtd); Elder Moses Ihonde, Hon. Justice Kalajine Anigbogu (rtd), Elder Nat Okoro, Mr. Solomon Asemota (SAN) and Elder Matthew Owojaiye.
Others are DIG P. L. Dabup, Sir John W. Bagu, late Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Dame Priscilla Kuye, Prof. (Mrs) Deborah Enilo Ajakaiye, HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, Dr. Taiwo Idemudia (Diaspora), Elder Minso Gadzama, Apostle Bulus Musa Kewa, Admiral Peter Adeniyi (Rtd), Hon. Justice Goddy Anunihu (Rtd) and Chief Sir Ferdinand Anikwe.
The statement reads, “Nigeria remains a deeply divided country with many non-state actors putting pressure on its security. While we appreciate the efforts of the military and the other security units, the matter of religious divide remains a thorny issue and religious discrimination is yet to be fully addressed by the government. In many parts of Northern Nigeria, violation of citizens rights to religious belief is still common. The secularity of the Nigerian State is openly challenged by some relentless religious extremists.
“NCEF is concerned that rather than promote the secularity of the country, the government acted recently to deepen the religious divide. The participation of President Tinubu in the Arab-Islamic Summit in Saudi Arabia, in November 2024, is a disturbing signal misrepresenting the constitutional status of Nigeria.
“Section 10 of the Constitution says, “The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion”. The Constitution is clear on the matter of Government and religion. President Tinubu should not have participated in the Arab-Islamic Summit because Nigeria is neither an Arab country, nor an Islamic state.
“NCEF calls for caution from leaders of the country to ensure that the neutrality of the State on religious issues is not compromised. Section 10 and Section 38(1) of the Constitution are specific on this matter. The Government should not be seen as the “agent provocateur” inflaming religious crisis in the country.”
Hunger In The Land
“National Christian Elders Forum is deeply worried about the hardship Nigerians are facing due to hyperinflation in the country. Several factors are responsible for the distressing condition the country is in. The main causes of the distress in the land are the dysfunctional policies of government in the past few years, the unbridled corruption amongst government officials, and the perennial attacks on farmers by religious insurgents.
“The responsibility of resolving these crises lies at the doorstep of government. Section 14 (2)b of the Constitution states that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government:”
NCEF calls on the Federal Government to take steps to ensure the “security and welfare” of Nigerians. The masses of Nigeria are suffering.
“Government should take immediate action against the extortion of money by security agents from those transporting foodstuff across the country. Various security agents mount check points on major roads all over the country demanding various levies from those transporting foodstuff. These illegal levies add to the price of foodstuff in the market. These extortion check points must be dismantled.
The Price Of Fuel
“Oil is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy and any shift in its price, locally and internationally, has ripple effects on every other sector in the country. Over the years, government has claimed to subsidize local consumption of fuel. Credible reports confirm that the subsidy regime was corrupted, and some analysts believe it should be removed.
“While NCEF agrees that channels of corruption should be blocked in the country, the impact of government policies on the populace should receive greater consideration. A sudden removal of fuel subsidy without any mitigating plan cannot be applauded as progressive government policy. It is akin to cutting the head to stop headache. NCEF believes that it is better to combat the corruption in the subsidy regime rather than subject the citizens to undue suffering. Developed nations of the world engage in various subsidy programs for their citizens. When former President Jonathan increased the price of fuel to N120 per litre in 2012, Nigerians came out with the slogan *“Kill Corruption; Do Not Kill Nigerians”. That call is more relevant today.
“The Tinubu administration removed fuel subsidy on its first day in office and the price of fuel rose from N195 per litre to N540. A few months later it rose to N617 per litre while it currently hovers around N1,000 per litre. Meanwhile, government is struggling to pay minimum wage of N70,000 per month. The minimum wage which government could not pay is what citizens are required to pay to fill the tank of their vehicles. The inflationary pressure this policy is exerting on the country is distressing.
“Of equal concern to the Forum of Christian Elders is the price the locally refined fuel is sold when compared with the price of imported fuel. It seems odd that the locally refined fuel, which does not require payment of import fees, levies, and other import charges is at par with its imported counterpart. The expectation was that locally refined fuel should be much cheaper than imported fuel.
“NCEF is calling on Mr. President, as the Minister of Petroleum, to look again at the pricing regime of fuel in the country. Apparently, government does not yet have a firm grip on the price of fuel. The right balance between citizens’ welfare and government policy has not yet been struck.
NCEF wishes to remind the President that the welfare of the citizens should be priority. Every policy of the government should be initiated with the singular objective of meeting the needs of the people. It is our hope that in 2025, government will review its position on the price of fuel and give the much-needed relief to Nigerians.
“The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government:” Section 14(2)b 1999 Constitution (as amended)”
ENDS***
Nigeria’s Budget and the Paradox of Democracy
(Published in the Sunday Tribune of January 12, 2025)
In a publication released in 2006 with the title, Parliament and Democracy In the Twenty-First Century: A Guide to Good Practice, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) identified what it called the “democracy paradox,” which it said, agrees with the postulations of Italian political theorist, Norberto Bobbio, who recognized what he called “the broken promises of democracy.” In that publication, the IPU stated that democracy, as both an idea and a set of political institutions has triumphed in most countries. Notwithstanding its global appeal within the ‘old’ and ‘new’ democratic fronts, the global parliamentary body reports that there is a “considerable disillusionment” with the results of democracy in practice. It reported that this disillusionment is not restricted to democratic practice in the old democracies and the new and emerging ones. According to the IPU, the paradox is all about the contrast between what (democracy) promised and what eventually comes out.
The IPU Said: “Yet it is a contract that appears particularly acute in the present age, when democracies are called on to grapple with forces that often seem beyond their control, affecting their security, their economies, and the livelihood and well-being of their citizens.”
In seeking a way out of what looks like a democratic jungle, the IPU reverted to the parliaments and declared that as a body that represents the diversity of societies, parliaments have a key role to play in addressing the paradox. It further declared that “parliaments embody the will of the people in government, and carry all their expectations that democracy will be truly responsive to their needs while helping to solve the pressing problems that confront them in their daily lives.”
The IPU further justified its trust in the parliament by emphasizing its centrality this way: “As the elected body that represents the society in its diversity, parliaments have a unique responsibility for reconciling the conflicting interests and expectations of different groups and communities through the democratic means of dialogue and compromise. As the key legislative organ, parliaments have the task of adapting society’s laws to its rapidly changing needs and circumstances. As the body entrusted with the oversight of government. They are responsible for ensuring that governments are fully accountable to the people.”
Of all the roles and functions attributed to the parliament, the duty of holding governments fully accountable to the people appears the key function that could help the parliament resolve the democracy paradox.
Since the restart of democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999, the budget, which is a statement of the government’s projections on public income and expenditure has remained the focal tool by which the executive comes in contact with the legislature and a tool, aside lawmaking, through which government can be held accountable. But since 1999, budgets have never been balanced, thus attracting derisive appellations like an annual ritual.
A former Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee once held a copy of the budget and said; ‘see this document, you cannot understand it. Even we that prepare it hardly understand’. He was not displaying the parliamentarians’ ignorance about the figures contained in the budget book, he was only emphasizing the essence of why budgets don’t deliver the goods. I had asked him whether a country needed to run a deficit budget. What the appropriation chairman was simply telling me was encapsulated in the paradox of democracy. The question of promising so much in a book of close to 2,000 pages on public expenditure, and delivering so meagre at the end of the day.
Happenings in the National Assembly in the last week have tended to emphasize the democracy paradox and the conclusions of the IPU that the parliament can come to the rescue. On Wednesday and Thursday of last week, the National Assembly had the opportunity to play one of its key roles of holding the government accountable to the people, in partial fulfillment of the conditions precedent to the resolution of the democracy paradox.
First was the statement credited to the Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, which expressed displeasure of the National Assembly at the poor implementation of the 2024 federal budget. In a statement by Kayode Odunaro, the senator’s Special Adviser, Adeola described the performance of the 2024 budget as dismal at a 25 percent execution rate for capital expenditure.
“The position of the National Assembly followed the report of the economic team led by Mr. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, showing that overall, so far 2024 budget performance was 43%, with recurrent expenditure achieving 100% while the capital budget only managed 25% performance,” the statement read.
The senator equally demanded the drastic reduction of the ratio of recurrent expenditure to capital from the present level of about 80 percent for recurrent and 20 percent for capital to at least 60 percent for recurrent and 40 percent for capital votes because capital projects are the growth areas that impact the people directly.
A day after that statement, the Senate was host to a drama of some sort, whereby the Minister of Finance and Coordination Minister for the Economy, Mr Wale Edun could not openly provide details of the government’s savings from the fuel subsidy removal. The Senator representing Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, had posed several questions which Edun found difficult to answer.
Ningi had said: “What is the budget performance so far in the 2024 fiscal year, particularly in terms of the capital expenditure? We haven’t heard from the minister how much has been saved from the removal of fuel subsidy and how much has been expended.
“We also haven’t heard from the minister about the debt servicing. How much have we actually used to service our debts in 2004? How much are we expecting to service the debt in 2005?
“Finally, will the Minister of Finance guarantee that the extension of the capital component of the 2024 budget to June 30, 2025, guarantee the desired results in terms of implementation that currently has a very low percentage?”
His questions speak directly to the essence of the budget itself while tagging along with the issue of democracy paradox.
The Minister could not hide his discomfort and immediately requested a closed session. Edun said: “Are we in a closed-door session? If we are not in a closed-door session, I will humbly seek one so as to provide detailed explanations to the questions asked.”
Though the Senate Committee granted the request, thereby denying the public clear information about service delivery under this administration thus far, the whole story had earlier been unveiled in the statement earlier released by Senator Adeola,
If the budget can only make provision of 20 percent for capital votes, while 80 percent goes for recurrent expenditure, no one needs the services of a mathematics teacher to know who holds the fattest part of the yam, people, or the government. But upon that, the 20 percent capital votes which stands to benefit the people, has only recorded 25 percent implementation for 2024. Most years, it struggles to close at 30 percent.
What this shows is that the national budget has been servicing the interests of the government and its workers all along. What is in it for the people is not only negligible but is always handled with levity.
With that, the paradox of democracy is further established. If a government’s performance in caring for the needs of the populace in terms of roads and general infrastructure will stand at 25 percent, in a year, how do we answer the question of democracy’s responsiveness to the needs of that people? How do we handle the question about democracy promising much and delivering little? If democracy must deliver the goods, the government at the state and federal levels must pay attention to the needs of the people.
Questions to be answered include, what percentage of the budget is allotted to capital votes, what percentage is set aside for recurrent and what is the performance pattern over time? From all we have seen over the years, the recurrent expenditure side of the national budget always achieves 100 percent success, while officials drag things that affect capital votes. If a child who scores 30 percent in an examination cannot run to the warm embrace of his parents, I wonder what gives our administrators the confidence to keep beating their chests as leaders of the people. It is not debatable that operators of democratic power must find practical solutions to the democratic paradox, here and now, if they would not stand accused of leading the people astray.
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