SERAP, others ask court to stop N37bn NASS renovation budget
SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oludare, said the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1633/2019, was filed last week.
The CSOs are, through the suit, urging the court to declare that allocation of N37bn for National Assembly’s renovation in the 2020 budget “is a breach of the defendants’ solemn constitutional obligations to know and follow constitutional oaths governing their conduct, including their duties of care to Nigerians to faithfully protect and defend the constitution and improve the well-being and welfare of Nigerians.”
The CSOs contended that “spending N37bn to renovate the National Assembly complex is self-serving, wrongful, illegal and unconstitutional expenditure of public funds, as it means less money for educating millions of out-of-school Nigerian children, providing access to clean water and health care to Nigerians, including the elderly, or repairing the country’s roads and bridges.”
Among the 583 concerned Nigerians, who joined the suit as co-plaintiffs, are Bring Back Our Girls Co-convener, Aisha Yesufu; singer Bankole Wellington, alias Banky W; Mrs Ayo Obe; Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, and Fisayo Soyombo.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency of Osun State in the House of Representatives, Mr Bamidele Salam, has condemned the planned renovation of the National Assembly Complex with N37bn.
The complex was constructed at a cost of N10.7bn ahead of the return to democracy in 1999. The Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration later expanded the complex to create more offices for lawmakers.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, had last Monday said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was aware of the planned renovation next year. He explained that the complex, built about 20 years ago, was in dilapidated condition.
The Peoples Democratic Party member, in a Facebook post on Sunday, further argued that the money could also have been spent on health, education and infrastructure.
The post read, “I am a member of the National Assembly but I sincerely do not think we need N37bn renovation of that edifice. Apart from the chambers of the NASS, which need some upgrade in the audio and recording system, the entire structure needs no renovation more than our classrooms, hospitals and roads, which are mostly in a decrepit condition.
“As an advocate of an aggressive microcredit strategy for job creation, I would rather want to see 370,000 small businesses get N100,000 interest-free loan within 12 months rather than have one edifice swallow that sum within the same period. If we mop up all funds voted for renovations of the Presidential Villa and other offices of political leaders and top civil servants, we will raise more than a quarter of a trillion naira that can be injected into SMES in the coming year.
“I will, by God’s grace, be making this open advocacy on the floor of the House of Representatives when the House reconvenes in January (28). It is never late to change a wrong policy!”
The National Assembly Management has, however, faulted critics of the N37bn renovation, saying the parliament was supposed to receive commendations for its long endurance of the hardships caused by the dilapidated state of the building.
Speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone on Sunday, the Director of Information, National Assembly, Mr Rawlings Agada, asked why Nigerians were not asking about the amount being spent to maintain other national buildings like the Presidential Villa.
He recalled that a construction firm had asked for over N20bn to renovate the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.
Agada said, “I want to make it empathically clear that it has never been the responsibility of the National Assembly Management to undertake such projects. Just like the Federal Secretariat, the Presidential Villa, the Supreme Court and the (Moshood Abiola) National Stadium, they are categorised as special Federal Government projects and FCDA was established just to develop Abuja.
“Every capital provision that you are seeing there was captured under the FCT budget and allocation. We don’t have any business in how they do it or how they will award the contract; it is the FCDA that is going to award the contract. So, where has the management gone wrong?
“It is the FCDA that should be asked if the N37bn budgeted for the renovation is justifiable or not. What anybody can do is to commend the management of the National Assembly for having been able to sustain those structures with the very meagre amount of money that comes to us.”
Agada listed various reasons to justify the reconstruction of the building.
He argued that the renovation was a project by the Federal Government. He added that while the stadium was only being used for occasional sporting events, the National Assembly complex had been under consistent use.
He said, “Which National Assembly will you go to see the roof leaking and a bucket placed under (to collect the water)? There is a structural defect. It is even worth reconstructing the whole of the structure. It is not buying a car that is the issue but maintaining the car. The two chambers have issues. Most of the facilities are outdated. The structure has been there for over 20 years without turnaround maintenance.”
The National Assembly’s spokesman also noted that the sitting arrangement and configuration of the chambers were obsolete.
He said, “Even the proper arrangement of the chambers; if you look at the chambers of the ECOWAS Parliament’s and the International Conference Centre Abuja, they have been reconfigured. But here, there is no how a member can leave their seat without begging their colleague to step aside so they can walk through…like a cinema setting.
“Nigeria is the most populous black nation, yet our chambers are not even ICT compliant. Yet, people are talking of electronic voting and why it is not in use. Some of these facilities use software and they are outdated.”
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