… Sets agenda for Tinubu, 10th NASS
Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has knocked outgoing Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; and the entire 9th National Assembly for providing legislative backing to President, Muhammadu Buhari’s borrowing spree and plunging Nigeria into unprecedented debt burden and economic woes.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Friday in Abuja, tasked members of the 10th National Assembly not to be rubberstamp appendage of the executive arm of government by endorsing every proposal of the federal government at the expense of the Nigerian people.
The group warned against the dominance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and charged opposition parties to ensure that only the best men and women win top positions in the new dispensation.
He noted that the outgoing Senate President, Lawan, had on Wednesday said he was not bothered that the 9th NASS under his leadership was tagged rubber stamp Assembly.
According to Lawan, despite misgivings by some Nigerians over the cordial relationship with the executive, 112 Bills passed by the 9th NASS were assented to by former President Buhari.
Onwubiko decried the fact that the Buhari-led government moved Nigeria’s debt profile from N42 trillion to N77 trillion; this he said had attendant effects on debt servicing, which rose from N1.06 trillion in 2015 to N5.24 trillion as of 2022.
He further noted that debt-service-to-revenue ratio grew from 29 per cent to 96 per cent according to the Budget Office.
“Under Buhari, the Monetary Policy Rate rose from 12.5 per cent in 2015 to 18 per cent in April 2023; even as inflation rate galloped to 22.5 per cent; while food inflation galloped to 24 per cent as of April 2023; unemployment rose from 10.4 per cent in 2015 to 33.4 per cent in 2020; under as multidimensional poverty and jobless youths continue to rise into tens and hundreds of millions,” the national coordinator lamented.
According to Onwubiko, “The 10th NASS must avoid being remote-controlled from Aso Rock by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for independence of the legislature which is vital for nation building, strengthening of democratic institutions, amongst others.
“The 10th NASS must ensure zero tolerance to contract scams by members. The Tinubu government must avoid meddling in the affairs of the legislature; face the hydra-headed monster of terrorism, banditry, herdsmen attacks, unstable economy, and unemployment, amongst others.
“The President must also ensure his cabinet is devoid of corrupt officials who contributed in plunging Nigeria in the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by Transparency International in January 2023.”
