By Emman Ovuakporie
Zakari Mohammed is the
Chairman, House of
Representatives Committee
on Media and Public Affairs.
In this chat, Mohammed
speaks on the activities of
the 7th Assembly. He also
gives an insight into the
frosty relationship between
Mr President and the Green
Chamber. Excerpts:
How do you assess the 7th
Assembly in the last 12
months of Hon Aminu Waziri
Tambuwal leadership?
The 7th Assembly came to
restore the hopes and
aspirations of all Nigerians
and we proved this point in
January when we convened
a plenary on a Sunday to
quickly address the almost
state of anarchy during the
protest against the sudden
withdrawal of fuel subsidy
by the Federal Government.
This development gave rise
to the constitution of an
adhoc committee on fuel
subsidy monitoring regime
that exposed the shoddy
deals in that sector of our
economy. Also, one glaring
fact Nigerians must have
realized by now is that this
Assembly did not come with
a barren mind. We came with
a strong resolute via the 7th
Assembly Legislative Agenda
to make laws that would
promote Nigerians.
Input into constitution
We did not stop our
campaign of ensuring
Nigerians are freed from the
shackles of poverty. That is
why when the Central Bank
of Nigeria wanted to
introduce the N5000 note,
we halted it immediately it
was made public. The CBN
had told us that a cashless
economy was in vogue, but
the sudden introduction of
the N5000 note ran contrary
to that policy and we
stopped it because we knew
it was not sustainable. The
House took all these issues
with all seriousness because
we are equally accountable
to those who sent us to
represent them here and
anything that runs foul of the
rule of law had to be
checkmated.
Zakari Mohammed
Hon. Zakari Mohammed
Also, for the first time in the
history of this democracy, we
took the issue of constitution
review to the grassroots
where all stakeholders made
input into our constitution.
This marked a watershed in
the annals of constitution
amendment in Nigeria.
The 360 constituencies in
the country had a feel of it
and issues like state police,
insecurity,abrogation of state
INEC, autonomy of state
assemblies, autonomy of
local government areas, state
creation, our educational
system, empowerment of
women and other various
national issues were
exhaustively discussed. We
equally made it clear that the
issue of referendum for now
cannot be discussed because
we have the National
Assembly that is
constitutionally empowered
to carry out legislative
functions. As you know there
is no document in this world
that is perfect, all we can do
is to periodically review it.
Business unusual
There is also the issue of the
2012 budget that was
abysmally implemented, we
stepped in to ensure that
100 percent implementation
is attainable to serve as basis
for the 2013 budget. The
House also strengthened its
oversight function as all
Ministries, Departments and
Agencies of the Federal
Government were made to
stand on their feet. We made
sure it was not business-as-
usual. Rather, we focused on
business unusual to achieve
results from the MDAs.
The Committee on Public
Accounts this year alone
treated the Auditor General's
annual reports in the last
four years. The House did all
of these despite the
limitations that faced us
particularly when we had to
slash our earnings by over
63percent. We went on a
self-cleansing mission to
send a message to all and
sundry that we are here to
work. This has given rise to
different insinuations from
several quarters that the
House is broke. But we are
not complaining, rather we
have made laws for the
betterment of Nigerians.
Remember that we swore to
on oath to protect the
interest of all Nigerians. This
oath of allegiance is the
bond we have with our
constituents.
The House would do
anything to ensure that we
do not derail in carrying out
our primary function of
making popular laws. This
year, we embarked on a
nationwide oversight tour of
all Federal Government
projects. This tour of opened
our eyes to so many things
that are not being properly
done. As you aware also, it
was the first of its kind to
the extent that journalists
were incorporated into it for
proper reportage.
Do you think the Tambuwal
Legislative Agenda is still very
much on course?
It has not derailed, rather, it
is waxing stronger on a daily
basis. It is the social contract
we signed with the people of
Nigeria. Tambuwal has done
everything possible to live
above board. He has
exhibited exemplary
leadership. Our legislative
agenda is like the Bible and
the Koran, we religiously
follow it.
The House adhoc committee
report on fuel subsidy did
not portray the 7 th
Assembly in good light. What
really happened?
You do not have to be told,
the House committee report
exposed the illegalities in
that sector perpetuated by a
selected few to the
admiration of all Nigerians.
You also know that we went
a step further by ensuring
that the erring officer at a
time was suspended
pending when investigations
into the allegations are
cleared by the House
committee in charge of such
matters. And you also know
that there were a lot of
under table dealings that the
report exposed.
But like I said earlier , there
are people out there that do
not want this report to see
the light at day. The House
made all the necessary
background that led to the
whole noise. Look at what is
happening to the Ribadu-led
committee report; is it not
generating the same
reactions today? Both
reports are pointers to the
fact that all is not well with
the sector and we cannot be
cowed by cheap blackmail
from those who have
plundered our country.
At a time, the House invited
President Goodluck Jonathan
to come and brief legislators
on how he is handling
security in Nigeria, but, till
date, the president has
ignored the invitation. How
does the House take it?
The president of the United
States every now and then
briefs the Congress on key
issues, ours should not be an
exception. We are equally
accountable to our
constituents and we can
never allow Project Nigeria to
fail, there is need for us to
synergise to allow Project
Nigeria to survive. We have a
right to ask Mr President
questions on behalf of our
constituents. Mind you we
did not summon him, we
simply invited him to come
and rub minds with us and
give account of what has
been happening to security
in the country.
The whole essence of his
invitation is to see how we
can collaborate with him to
ensure that the lives of
Nigerians and our properties
are secure. For instance,
when he (president)
requested for soldiers to
help during the Edo State
election, we supported him
despite the fact that some of
our members kicked against
the deployment of soldiers to
the state. We had no option
but to throw our weight
behind him because lives
and properties are involved.
There is this general
assumption that the House is
at war with the Executive
arm of government.
We will definitely ask Mr
President questions on
behalf of our constituents or
what do we tell them when
we go back home to them? It
is our constitutional right to
ask questions that affect
Nigerians. To put the records
straight, we are not at war
with Mr. President, rather, we
are protecting everybody's
interest including his own
interest.
How will you rate the House
in the last one year?
We have been keeping our
heads above water and,
honestly, we have not done
badly, we are the hope of
Nigerians, we will not be
cowed by anybody. Nigerians
should continue to pray for
us. We cannot afford to
disappoint Nigerians who
elected us into the House.
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