From Idu Jude, Abuja
As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares for the 2023 general elections, hope for credible polls remains ambiguous in the mind of many Nigerians.
Eze Onyekpere, a lawyer and the lead director, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) in this interview with Sunday Sun allayed the fears over President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of party cronies as Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC).
He also picked holes in the rascality of the judiciary and the failure of the National Assembly in the country’s democracy as major concerns. Excerpt:
Do you see this INEC conducting a free and fair election, that will install good leadership in 2023?
Well, we have been a bit excited with the outcome of the passage of the Electoral Act and electronically transmission of results in some of the elections conducted thereafter, but what is coming out from the Aso Villa is a little bit scary. First of all, the president has again nominated card-carrying members of his party, the APC, as Resident Electoral Commissioners, REC, to go and occupy the positions of non-partisans and even when it was pointed out to him, he said that the legislature should do it. And the question is, who are the legislature? The same rubber stamped boys at the National Assembly, who will now adopt what the president directed. So, it’s something that will make the heart of any one faint. Again, coming from the house, if APC, the case of voters registration coming from Imo State and how Governor Hope Uzodimma manipulated voters cards with both the dead and foreigners. Simply, what is happening now is making me to rethink that it appears to be hopeless. Because if all these things are true and if you are bringing partisan persons to occupy positions meant for non-partisans, if the voters register has been infiltrated with all manner of names, including that meant for obituary announcement was also uploaded, then what hope? Your guess is as good as mine. These things need to be cleared. INEC needs to come out and it is not for anybody to be hoping.
As a Lead Director of a CSO, how do you rate the present administration in the context of enshrinement of democracy and implementation of national budget?
The civil society organisations have always made emperical recommendations on how economic governance should be run. We made a lot of recommendations relating to death management, relating to budget and budget implementation and also getting more revenue, domestic resource mobilization into the coffers of both state and local government . But the point is that the authorities are not listening, so asking our contribution, the problem is that the present administration does not see the people as a source of power. Otherwise, if they see the people as the source of power, it would have listened to the wishes and aspirations of Nigerians as a people. So, what we have today masquerading as economic governance, is economic mismanagement of worst order. Because nobody runs his family the way the present economic managers run Nigeria. Please ask me how, we are depend on borrowing money to make up to what we have to pay debts. For example, you work somewhere and I know that journalists are not paid fantastically, have you gotten at a point where the salary is not even enough to offset the debts you incurred before and after that you now go about looking for someone to borrow you extra N100,000 to take care of immediate needs. No matter how much is your salary, you still manage to take care of your needs within your means and settle your family. But here all the money we made, is not even enough to service our debts, and that is why I said that nobody runs his family like the present economic managers run Nigeria. It is the most rascally and irresponsible way of economic behaviour I have ever seen. A couple of days ago, it was in the news that the Minister of Finance, went to the National Assembly, to propose that they need N6 trillion worth of tax waivers in 2023. Now the question is, how much are you expecting as your real revenue. You want to borrow N11 trillion and you want to waive taxes to your cronies and friends totaling N6 trillion. And the question is, how can you be waiving taxes at a period you want to borrow so much? Some of us have said earlier, take a look at physical responsibility law, put a cap on it, don’t waive more than 25/ 30 per cent in their revenue in a year so that you have enough. So nobody will do this is it is his family. Nobody looks at money that comes in his pocket and waive it and now looks around to where to borrow to feed your family. It is not done anywhere and that is why I said that this is extreme irresponsibility masquerading as economic governance.
What is your assessment of the 9th Assembly, with regards to budget approvals and oversight functions on implementation of physical projects?
The 9th Assembly had better be described as a rubber stamped Assembly. Yes, it is, please tell me what they have done that is new. The petroleum industry bill was passed by the 8th Assembly led by Senator Bukola Saraki, but was refused assent by the same man. The Electoral Act we are celebrating today, was also passed by the same Saraki-led Assembly, but Buhari refused. The auditor general bill which they are now celebrating was also passed by the 8th Assembly, Buhari also recused . Now, can some one tell me what is so special about the rubber stamped Assembly that does not vet any proposal and demands for borrowing which Buhari made desperate effort to succeed during the 8th Assembly, but they refused but this time they installed a rubber stamped leadership and he has broken loose for borrowing expedition always. As you can see Ahmad Lawan and Gbajabiamila will always hit the Gavel irrespective of any contrary view. So, what is special, they are just mediocrity. So what I’m saying is that if they claim to have performed well and the economy is like this, well the whosoever is coming after with an improved economy will now claim distinction. The fact is that when the administration has ran Nigerian economy down while spending N6 trillion on fuel subsidy while OPEC output is 1.8 and you did 800 as at last August and the administration still claim to be performing well, then something is wrong with them. What am I going to score them? Both the executive and legislature are failed entities of unimaginable promotions and they have done immeasurable damage to the economy of the nation. Very incalculable, and these are people who are supposed to hold the executive to the jugular and the executive turns around and hold you instead. What they do is always brief the press of their proposals and retire to committee meetings and the executive sit down and look at you and nothing happens. So my assessment is that Nigerians should just kick the hell out of anyone occupying parliament that is all. The 9th Assembly is an apology, that is the rating.
Some economists believe there’s nothing wrong in borrowing, yet IMF is bent on warning Nigeria. Do you foresee any danger?
This is commonsensical, there is nothing wrong in borrowing, when one is borrowing for the right course. Once you can borrow for human development and infrastructural expenditure , there is no problem about that, but when we are borrowing to service debts, when we are borrowing to pay salaries. In our case, we are borrowing to allow members of the executive to drive 10 L series and SUVs, in convoy, that is not productive and that is what economy stands for. That is not building human capacity for your economy to grow. So, we are rather borrowing for frivolities. In foreign countries, people borrow to invest in hard core areas. For instance, even the noise this administration is making, to be fantastic, the Abuja /Kaduna rail line was almost completed by Goodluck Jonathan administration and such project has not been run as a business ventures for economic recovery till date and I mean before the terrorists attack. The rail services are still running at government loss. The NRC is rather adding money to run the services, so has not been out to proper economy recovery purposes yet and the question is, how do you repay the loans? How can you borrow to build a rail line and you are still subsidizing passengers tickets. That is why I said earlier that no mother or father can run his or her family the way Buhari and his employees are running the economy of Nigeria. So, borrowing is not the question as far as I am concerned. But what are you borrowing for. And it is not the matter of IMF or World Bank warning us, it is all about knowing what you want and scaling your preference. It is in common economic term. So, in essence, borrowing is not a problem, but what are you borrowing for or are you even borrowing according to the law. Because the law says that if you must borrow that it must be for human and capital expenditure.
What in your view has been the contribution of the CSOs to enshrine democracy for the implementation of social justice in Nigeria?
The struggle to return Nigeria to democracy cannot be complete without articulating what the human rights NGOs did before 1999 because they were at the forefront of the struggle for the return of democracy by asking the soldiers to return to the barracks. But that struggle has a lot of facets because many did a lot of struggle even instituting litigations in the court against military rule, organized streets protests, massive sensitisation and education in the courts that fought against military rule and, of course, others taught people what democratic norms in the military rules has been, which formed also reasons for the struggle. Of course, there were action researches trying to connect people to the various atrocities recorded during the years of military rule and publish them and bring them to public domain. So, it was a combination of tactics and strategies that were used by civil society organisations and of course, working with other key actors like the late Gani Fawehinmi, the ASSU membership, the trade unions that led us to be able to drive the soldiers back to the barracks.
What kind of National Assembly do you foresee in 2023, with what we have seen in the 9th Assembly?
We are expecting a non-rubber stamp Assembly.