* Expresses concern over non-assent to anti-corruption
bills
The Senate Thursday vowed to ensure the merger of some of the
over 700 federal agencies in the country believed to be draining
the nation’s scarce resources.
The upper legislative chamber argued that most of the agencies
and parastatals were not productive, but only depended on budget
allocations from federal government to survive.
The Senate also Thursday referred the 2020-2022 Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the
committees on Finance and National Planning.
It mandated the committes to submit their report on Wednesday,
October 2, at the plenary.
The Senate also threatened that it would either merge or
eliminate these identified agencies, as some of the agencies are
not adding value to the nation’s economy.
The lawmakers took this position at plenary when it considered
the report of the Senator Adamu Aliero-led Ad-hoc Committee on the
Ninth Senate Legislative Agenda.
Forty five out of the 109 Senators, who took turns to contribute
to the report over a five-hour period, expressed their views.
The Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, while summing up the
debate said, “we must face reality of making the economy work for
the people.
“The number of federal agencies in this country is too many,
more than 700 of them. Either we merge or eliminate some of them,
because some of them don’t add value to the nation, they depend on
the budget to survive.
“We will also do something about the electoral reform, it is
supposed to be a continuous thing. We have to do something because
of what we witnessed in the last election.
“We should start on time before the next election latest by 2021
so that it will not be problematic.”
Lawan, while also commenting on consumer reform, said it is not
ideal to pay for goods especially car and house at once as such
action encourages corruption.
“I think it will be better that when you are buying a car or a
house, you should not pay at once, because it encourages
corruption.”
Chairman of the Senate committee on Aviation, Senator Dino
Melaye, earlier in his contribution, spoke on issues that need
urgent intervention.
According to him, “There is a need to review our curriculum, to
carry subjects like civic education, nationalism, moral philosophy
that will bind us together as a people.
On annual budget presentation, Melaye declared that “the issue
of budget passage is a major problem that we must look at.
“Over 70 per cent of the bills passed in the Eighth Senate were
not assented to by Mr. President. This is outrageously calamitous.
It calls for instantaneous correction. The process of bill is
cumbersome”.
He also commented on the rising wave of corruption in the
country saying “95 per cent of corruption is this country is
through procurement”.
On his part, Chairman of the Senate committee on Culture and
Tourism, Senator Rochas Okorocha urged the Senate to introduce the
principle of sacrifice, adding, “we must cut our coat according to
the materials available.”
On his part, the Chairman of Senate committee on Primary
Healthcare and communicable diseases, Senator Chukwuka Utazi
submitted that the proceeds of corruption bill that was passed
before the close of the Eighth Senate has not been signed and it is
still lingering.
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