Abimbola Akosile
11 November 2009
Lagos — Members of the House of Representatives have been called upon to refrain from carrying out an alleged threat to stop appropriation for Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) projects in 2010.
The Lower House members were also enjoined to drop their threat and rather join hands on the success of the MDGs, as it can only be beneficial to the citizenry and members of the various constituencies, which they represent.
The calls were made by the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), in a statement he issued, titled, 'Some Reps Threaten to Stop Appropriation for MDGs in 2010: A Joke Taken Too Far'.
CISLAC also called on the leadership of the National Assembly to be wary of such lawmakers, and "not allow them to drag their (legislators) image in the mud".
"We in CISLAC view with concern what happened in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, November 4. 2009. On this fateful day, some Representatives threatened to drop any appropriation for Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) projects in 2010;
"It was equally more revealing when Hajiya Amina Mohammed Az-Zubair, SSA to the President on MDGs stated that the difficulty in the implementation of MDGs projects included pressure and 'interference from some lawmakers', among others" Musa said.
To him, "this is a confirmation of rumours that some federal lawmakers were mounting pressure for contracts for MDGs projects. CISLAC as a CSO closely with the legislature in the area of pro-poor policy and legislative advocacy as well as anti-corruption campaign is totally disappointed at this threat;
"The MDGs, though a global concept is tailored towards rural development and the improvement of standard of living of the citizenry;
"If the duty of the lawmaker is to legislate for good governance and the improvement of livelihood of members of their constituencies, then the aspiration of the MDGs is in tandem with their goals. They should rather join hands than tear down the programme through budgetary frustration;
"Also, as a CSO that has collaborated with government in the area of anti-corruption, we want to point out clearly that members of the legislature should steer clear of contracts as that is strictly within the purview of the executive arm of government, and will directly compromise the oversight role of the legislature;
According to Musa, for Nigeria to stand tall in the comity of nation, MDGs implementation is a yardstick.
"It is, to say the least, inappropriate for some lawmakers to think of frustrating the global initiative and make Nigeria a laughing stock of the international community just because they have been denied contracts" he fumed.
To Musa, the MDGs as a global initiative is all above the improvement of healthcare delivery in the areas of maternal and child mortality; education, water supply, food security among others.
"So far, a total of N207 billion have been appropriated in 2007 and 2008 for MDGs projects. The implementation does not justify this amount of money, the National Assembly, should through proper oversight ensure proper execution of all the projects", he advised.
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