We Need To Consult Oracle To Tackle 'Animals Eating Billions' of Nigeria Money – Reps Member
Category: Nigeria News
A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yunusa Ahmad has said that there
was need to consult the oracle to tackle the endemic corruption in the country.
Ahmad disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while fielding questions
from journalists at the African conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD II
2022) organized by Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ).
The lawmaker insisted that the country had adequate laws to tackle
corruption, but lamented that the act of stealing had been so perfected that it
was so difficult to trace anything through paper.
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Ahmad added that
the National Assembly had been playing its roles through oversight and was
passing relevant laws that were in tandem with the reality.
His
words: “We played our roles. First, we assumed there were allegations of
corruption. First, we check, is it the law that did not plug the loopholes? We
look at the law, study them and then evolve laws that will be in tandem with the
reality or modernity.”
Ahmad noted that one of the interventions made
by the National Assembly was the enactment of Nigeria Financial Intelligence
Unit (NFIU) Act, which separates it from the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, and the enactment of the Money Laundering Act.
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He
added: “In over-sighting too, we try to ascertain to what extent are the laws
being obeyed. We discovered everything is there. In Nigeria, when you are trying
to find fault through the papers, you will never get anything because the papers
are neat.
“But when it comes to practical issues, that is why
mystique is there. Last week, you heard when termites ate billions, sometimes we
had snake swallow some money in JAMB. So, we really need to consult the oracle.
The issue here is that the National Assembly is doing its job.”
Earlier, the Executive Director of ANEEJ, Mr. David Ugolor said the
AfCoDD II 2022 brought together political, technical, and civic leaders from
Africa to deliberate and agree on commitments that safeguard the macroeconomic
sustainability of the continent towards achieving a new debt movement.
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He said the meeting was about national civic movement building in a
sustained manner beyond the current debt crisis.
Ugolor noted that
Nigeria’s total debt stock had remained on a steady increase in the past six
years, as statistics obtained from the Debt Management Office (DMO) showed that
the Total Public Debt Stock, which comprises the Debt Stock of the Federal
Government of Nigeria (FGN), 36 State Governments and the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) stood at $100.07 billion as at 31 March 2022.
He said
external debt stood at $39,969.19 or 39.94 per cent, while domestic debts stood
at $60,100.70 or 60.06%.
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The Executive Director stressed that before
now, government had maintained that its borrowings were still within allowable
limits and sustainable ratios.
Ugolor pointed out that Nigeria’s
fiscal position worsened in the first four months of the year as the cost of
repaying debt surpassed the government’s revenue in the first quarter of 2022.
According to details of the 2022 fiscal performance report for
January through April, Nigeria’s total revenue stood at N1.63 trillion, while
debt servicing stood at N1.94 trillion, showing a variance of over N300 billion.
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The Executive Director explained that Section 42(1) of the Fiscal
Responsibility Act, 2007, provides that “The President shall, within 90 days
from the commencement of the Act and with advice from the Minister of Finance
subject to approval of National Assembly, set overall limits for the amounts of
consolidated debt of the three tiers of government.”
“However, since
the enactment of the FRA in 2007, the consolidated debt limits of the federal,
states and local governments have not been set by any President,” Ugolor stated.
He recalled that a 2018 Fiscal Responsibility Commission Report
revealed that efforts to ensure that a limit was set on the consolidated debt of
the three tiers of government for a more sustainable management of public debt
failed.
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Ugolor said this had worsened debt management crisis and
reinforced calls for reforms in the nation’s debt management architecture.
Lawless country
ReplyDeleteDid a fellow once refer to this country as a Zoo?
ReplyDeleteI think so oo
ReplyDelete