ADEBIYI ADEDAPO, writes on the evolving friction between Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai over the need for more openness in the budgetary allocation to their offices.Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, in the last one week, have been engaged in altercation over allegations of lack of transparency in the executive and legislative arms of government.The vocal governor had accused the 8th National Assembly of being militating factor against the anti-corruption crusade of the current administration, as he said secrecy in the finance of the legislative arm of government is against the change mantra.However, Dogara in a swift response urged the governor to extend his transparency campaign to his fellow governors, as he challenged chief executives of states to make public how they spend their security votes as well as allocation to local governments under their jurisdictions.Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, set the tone for the discussion, when he delved into issues about fight against corruption and public perception about the National Assembly.Baba-Ahmed who observed that many Nigerians believe that the National Assembly is indifferent to the anti-corruption crusade of the current administration, said the perception was misconstrued.But el-Rufai swiftly disagreed when he mounted the podium. The Governor noted that the 8th National Assembly, particularly the Senate, is not perceived by the public to be indifferent to the anti-corruption war, but as an opposition to the anti-corruption war of the current administration.The National Assembly has been seen as an opposition. The National Assembly, particularly the Senate, is seen as one of the fighters of the war against corruption, and this image has to be worked on. If we are going into elections in two years, and remember there is no writing of results, there is card reader, it is incumbent on the leadership and membership of the National Assembly to do something about this narrative, he said.The governor further stated that the perceived opposition posture of the lawmakers could not be defended, since their activities is shrouded in secrecy.I do not believe this is the truth; I do not believe it is entirely false either. I believe there is need for the National Assembly to do something about its image. For instance, nobody knows your budget; nobody knows. Publications are made about your salaries and allowances, which I dont believe are true, but can also not be defended because there is no transparency in your budgeting system. I think you can do something about that to clear all the rumours and remove all the evil stories that are largely untrue, he stated.Dogara who did not find el-Rufais attack on the National Assembly funny fired back at the governor.The Speaker disclosed that el-Rufais observation had been treated, as the leadership of the National Assembly already directed its management to make public its budget.He however challenged state governors to account for funds allotted as security votes as well as allocation to local government councils under their control.He, also challenged el-Rufai to extend his campaign for transparency to other arms of government, including the judiciary, how governors spend their security votes and allocation to local government councils.I will like to challenge my elder brother, Governor el-Rufai to champion this cause for transparency in the budgetary process from the National Assembly to other arms of government. We want to see clearly how Chief Executives of states are paid, how much is the security votes allocated to them, what they do with security votes and if they can publish what happens to local government funds under their jurisdictions. That will help our discussion going forward.Although, there was no avenue for el-Rufai to openly respond to the challenge, however, during a chit-chat with the Speaker as they made their way out of the venue, he said; why should I champion the campaign, all governors are equal.Subsequently, el-Rufais released details of Kaduna States security budget and his emoluments as governor..According to a statement from the governors office, el-Rufai earns a net salary of N470, 521.74, with the following details: Basic Salary N185,308.75 Hardship Allowance N370,617.50 Gross Pay N555,926.25 PAYE N85,404.51 Total Deduction N85,401.51 Net Pay N470,521.74.The statement reads; Our attention has been drawn to a challenge by Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives, calling on Kaduna State to make public its Security Votes and Local Government expenditure. This challenge was thrown as a response to Governor Nasir El-Rufais request to the National Assembly to provide further details on the opaque N115 billion 2016 NASS budget. Malam Nasir El-Rufai welcomes this challenge as a necessary step to improve and strengthen our democracy.According to the statement, budget of all state governments in Nigeria are detailed out and presented at least under the headings of personnel cost, overhead and capital expenditure.This is unlike the budget of the National Assembly which is a single line item of over N100 billion that divulges zero information or details. NASS can at least break down its own single line budget into the hundreds of line items that are detailed in every state government budget in Nigeria. It is disingenuous to respond to every request for transparency by casting aspersions el-Rufai said.As regards Kaduna State Security Votes, the Governor said if the Dogara had run an online search he would have discovered the details of the states spending priorities on security as a State Government.As our Kaduna Comprehensive Security Architecture (KADCoSA) outlines, the State is directing security spending on four pillars; Justice, Technology, Community Engagement and Support to Security Agencies. The 2017 budget details specific amounts: N1.5bn (one and half billion naira) for the Procurement & Installation of CCTV Cameras for Monitoring and Surveillance towards Reducing Criminal Activities within the Metropolis; N193m (one hundred and ninety-three million naira) for Procurement of Geoposition Interceptor and location of GSM UMTS System to Check the Trends and intercept/locate kidnappers GSM calls; N265m (two hundred and sixty-five million naira) for the Procurement of Drones/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to identify locations of armed bandits in our Forest Reserves across the state and the Establishment of a Forensic Laboratory to assist in determining substantial evidence in cases that otherwise proved difficult in the past. In addition, N2.6bn is allocated in 2017 to support the network of federal Security Agencies in Kaduna with communications, logistics and material he said.Sequel to el-Rufais statement on Monday, Dogara on Tuesday evening released his 6 months payslips for the months of October, 2016 to March, 2016.The payslips released by the Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, indicated that Dogara earns a net payment of N346, 577.According to the breakdown, the Speakers basic salary is N206, 425, N175, 461 is meant for constituency, N20, 642 for recess, while his pay as you earn deduction stands at N55, 952.Namdas who described as misleading, claims by el-Rufai, that the National Assemblys N115 billion in the 2016 National budget is for its 469 members, said the budget is meant for the entire institutions and workforce of the legislative arm of government.He stated further that el-Rufais allegations are aimed at undermining and distracting the National Assembly from carrying out its constitutional roles and functions.Namdas explained that the National Assembly as an arm of government get about 2 percent of the annual budget. This according to him is far lower than the budget of some government agencies and departments.Budget of so many agencies in the Executive is higher than that of National Assembly, an arm of government. Such agencies as NCCN102billion, CBNN421billion, NPAN250billion, NIMASAN100billion, FIRSN146billion, CustomsN81billion and NNPC whose budget runs into trillions are some examples. Indeed, the National Assembly Budget is about 2% of the National Budget. Yes, the National Assembly has voluntarily agreed to publish its Budget from 2017, as a responsible and accountable democratic institution. What happens to 98% of the National Budget should engage our attention too. We are sure that if 10% of the public scrutiny National Assembly receives is also devoted to those spending the other 98%, Nigeria would be better for it, he stated.According to him, budget of the National Assembly covers, among others, salaries, allowances, expenditure and running cost of 469 members, salaries, allowances of about 3,000 Legislative Aides and salaries, allowances, equipment and maintenance of about 5000 staff in the Bureaucracy of the National Assembly.The National Assembly has agencies too. The National Assembly Service Commission has a staff strength of about 500. The National Institute for Legislative Studies is also a parastatal of the National Assembly that serves as a legislative think-tank and a highly rated academic institution, which serves not only the National Assembly but also State Houses of Assembly and the international community. It is currently building its headquarters which is world class. It has to be funded, Namdas stated.He however challenged el-Rufai to make public spending of security votes as against details of security budget which the Governor presented to the public.He noted that leadership of the National Assembly had ordered its bureaucracy to make public details of its 2017 budget, as soon as the 2017 Appropriation Bill is passed.With this done, the altercation between Dogara and el-Rufai would have achieved another milestone towards transparency in governance as more state governors and other political office holders are expected to follow the new example.
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