By Adadareporters
The N160m SUVs earmarked to each member of the House of Representatives by the Presidency is a ‘corporate bribe to pocket lawmakers by the executive arm of the government’.
The coordinator, Human Rights Volunteer Corps, Mr Larry Oguego, disclosed this in Enugu during a programme monitored by our reporter. He said the same manipulation takes place at state levels ‘to enhance state governors’ approvals for loans without assembly scrutiny’.
On the calls by the national chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, for LP lawmakers to reject the vehicles, Oguego said, “Being a credible opposition is beyond rejecting SUV gifts. I wanted LP lawmakers to make the difference during the screening of appointees and election of National Assembly principal officers. They can reject the vehicles, and still do damages.
“We expect them to pressure the executive arm to do the right thing. The SUV initiation did not start today. Abure acted too late. SERAP has been harping on the vehicles for over a month ago. Nothing has changed at NASS in terms of the chemistry of PDP, APC and LP lawmakers. LP lawmakers will accept and enjoy their gifts. That’s why people kill to win elections in Nigeria. They even break their own rules for their selfish reasons.
“The average Nigerian is waiting for his turn in the polity. So, it is the turn of our lawmakers to destroy the economy of Nigeria which didn’t start today.”
He said the only way LP lawmakers would earn Nigerians’ respect is ‘when we begin to hear their voices representing ordinary Nigerians that clamoured for change and voted for them’.
According to him, “PDP, APC and LP lawmakers are of the same political ideology. The new entrants can’t make any difference because their intention in going to the National Assembly is never to make any change. They, like others, only want power. They are cheating Nigerians on broad-day light. I have not seen any functional constituency offices these lawmakers created to interact with their constituents. And they collect money for this.
“These lawmakers are products of the same political trees. In the old, there were ideologies. For instance, if you were pro-Awolowo, you must implement free education in the Southwest. And the institutions to address these anomalies have joined the game. The way out is to change our individual and collective value systems.”
