In the wake of a directive earlier this year by the All Progressive Congress for its members in the National Assembly to block all legislative proposals including the 2014 budget and confirmation of all nominees to military and civilian positions to public office, the Nigeria Unity Group a multiparty coalition in the House of Reps pledged to resist any attempt to block the 2014 budget and the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. The public outcry that greeted this unpatriotic directive forced the APC Caucus in the House of Representatives to water down their party’s directive saying they would allow the recurrent expenditure component but block the capital component of the budget.
Whereas the recurrent expenditure component of the annual Appropriation Act is for salaries and overheads, it is the capital component that actually stimulates economic growth, generates employment and propels development in the real sector the benefits of which trickle down to the common man. By attempting to block the budget selectively in favor of recurrent instead of the capital component, the APC Caucus further demonstrated that they do not have the interest of the common man at heart.
Overwhelmed by an intimidating majority of our multi-partisan platform and sensing that the passage of 2014 budget will subject their party to ridicule, the APC caucus again rushed to the press claiming that they were now ready to pass the budget since the Rivers State Police CP has been redeployed. Nigerians now know better that the APC directive ab initio was not over a routine redeployment exercise in the Nigeria Police. From a total blockade, to a partial blockade and eventually to a no blockade, the claim by the APC that they were now ready to pass the budget was a belated face-saving measure.
The Nigeria Unity Group therefore wishes to state as follows:
- That conscious of the constitutional mandate of the National Assembly to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of the Federation and our oath of office wherein we each swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, our resolve to frustrate any counter-productive antics of the APC against the 2014 budget and the Transformation Agenda of President Jonathan remains unshaken. Against the parochial wishes of the APC, the National Assembly has successfully confirmed all the newly appointed Service Chiefs and passed the 2014 Appropriation Bill for second reading. The NUG remains totally committed to ensuring that the National Assembly passes the 2014 Budget timeously in the best interest of the Nigerian masses.
- That recent media reports that the PDP has regained its majority status in the House of Representatives are very erroneous and misleading. The PDP never lost its majority status in the House of Representatives at any point in time. We know for example that the 168 figures attributed to the APC by the press is actually 38 members less. The facts cannot be contradicted that ahead of their attempted defection from the PDP, a Federal High Court injunction obtained by 38 of our Hon Colleagues had ordered that the status qou to be maintained. We raised two a Points of Order drawing attention to the breach of section 68 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the pendency of the matter in the court of law and these two points of order informed Mr. Speaker’s decision to consult lawyers and get back to the House. We are still waiting for the outcome of Mr. Speaker’s consultations and therefore our 38 Hon Colleagues cannot possibly be considered to be APC legislators.
- That we condemn in the strongest terms possible the wild and spurious allegations by the APC that the PDP rolled out millions of US dollars to distinguished Senators, Hon Members of the House of Representatives including Principal Officers in a bid to entice them to defect to the ruling party. Nothing could be further from the truth. Is the APC saying they rolled out millions of Euros or Pounds to lure the 38 lawmakers into making an attempt albeit unsuccessfully to defect from the PDP to APC? We are not surprised at their desperation but we are determined not to allow these weighty allegations to be swept under the carpet. We have since raised a breach of privilege on the floor of the House and the matter has been referred to the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges the report of which is expected in two weeks. We will follow up on this matter to its logical conclusion. While Nigerians have become used to the regular doses of lies by the APC Spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, we are shocked, dismayed and disappointed that the incumbent governor of Nassarawa State Alhaji Tanko Almakura will condescend to such a despicable level to lie on a national television that the Hon Members from Nassarawa State were financially induced to defect to the PDP. Unfortunately this pattern of behavior has become consistent with the APC even at their highest level. Luckily, discerning Nigerians know that the APC remains a patch-patch contraption of desperate and power hungry politicians most of whom believe in blackmail and false propaganda as tools for achieving political relevance. They must learn to place national interest over and above parochial political gains.
- Finally, we salute the courage of Members of the multiparty platform under the Nigeria Unity Group for their resilience and commitment to the Nigeria project despite all effort to distract them.
Thank you and God bless
The Nigeria Unity Group