Senate President David Mark yesterday accused political office holders of jeopardising good governance for 2015 elections.
Mark spoke in Abuja when he welcomed senators back to the National Assembly after the Christmas and New Year break.
The Senate President said politicians were overheating the polity and undermining governance because of selfish personal ambitions.
He warned against provocative utterances and urged politicians to exhibit maturity in national issues.
Mark said: “As we resume today, we’ll soon realise that it is not only our legislative responsibilities that will task our wisdom. Pervasive political tension, arising from festering political disputes, continues to engage the polity.
“Across the nation, governance appears to have been sacrificed on the altar of desperate political manoeuvres and feverish permutations aimed at out-flanking one another ahead of the 2015 elections.
“Blinded by naked ambition, the political class has so painfully forgotten the lessons of our national history and has, once again, allowed the collision of vaulting personal ambitions to overheat the polity and undermine governance.
“Coming at a time our nation is still transiting amid tremendous strains and enormous social and economic challenges, the emphasis on primordial politics at the expense of governance is irresponsible, even dangerous.
In a veiled reference to the plans by some senators to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mark urged the lawmakers not to allow themselves to be used as tools of factional politics but to uphold the primacy of the interest of the nation, and the welfare of the people.
He added: “But here in the Senate, how we ride the challenge – and don’t let it deflect our focus from our constitutional responsibilities and our duty to our nation – will be a measure of our maturity.
“Our nation is watching to see whether distinguished senators will uphold the dignity of this institution and their oath of office, or whether we will allow ourselves to become mere tools in factional disputes and intra-party rows.
“In fragile and young democracies, such as ours, the cause of democracy is vastly served when statesmen and women refuse to sell the truth to serve the hour.
“Living true to our conscience, as elder statesmen and women as well as distinguished senators, is the challenge of this very hour. And it is a challenge that will define the social and political fabric of Nigeria.”
“The leadership, which we as Senators have always collectively offered compels us now to brace for these obvious political challenges, and to insist, as we have always done, on the primacy of the interest of the nation, and the welfare of our people.
“Our collective resolve, and our example as Senators of the Federal Republic, should serve as a powerful reminder to the political class that democracy’s fundamental raison d’être is to free the average citizen from the bonds of poverty, deprivation, disease and want.
“Our compatriots desire a society where every citizen, irrespective of tribe or class, is availed a socio-economic and political space that dispenses access to resources, privileges, and opportunities in a fair and just measure.
“The political class will certainly be judged by how far this ideal is attained, not by how much we ingratiate ourselves, advance our political careers or flaunt the panoply of high office.
“Therefore, whether in or out of this chamber, we must lead by the force of our personal example. We must remain courageous and continue to demonstrate a clear and instinctive inclination for patriotism, self sacrifice, mature and responsible leadership.
“We are the members of an institution deliberately designed by our Constitution to balance the nation and to stabilise our polity.
“We live true to this creed, and to this constitutional responsibility, only when we rise above narrow and parochial considerations not only in our thoughts and words but also in our actions.
“Tribes and tongues may differ, and the sands of political allegiances may shift, but this chamber unites us, first and foremost as Senators of the Federal Republic, all sworn to promote the peace, order and good governance of our nation.
“Accordingly, our thoughts, words and actions should at all times be focused on the search for a better country; a search for peace and unity.”
Mark noted that even though it has been established that that Parliament can make input into the national budget during consideration, but urged lawmakers to ensure that such inputs complement the vision of Mr. President.
He said: “In our evolving democratic practice, the point is now settled that parliament has the power to make inputs when considering Budget estimates.
“However, in exercising this constitutional power, every parliamentarian must bear in mind that an annual budget sets out an administration’s economic and social vision, and the fiscal means of attaining it.
“Parliamentary inputs should therefore reinforce and complement that vision. The executive arm should never and must not interpret this to mean a distortion of the budget.”
Mark described the strings of sordid revelations recently emerging even from high places in the country as worrisome but said the Parliament would not prejudge the veracity or otherwise of such revelations.
He said: “But every charge, every allegation or revelation of corruption, challenges parliament to be alert and to rededicate itself to its oversight responsibilities.
“The Constitution has charged us with the responsibility of exposing corruption in the administration of laws within our legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by us.
“It is a solemn responsibility that we should continue to live up to. However, whistleblowers must be prepared to back up their allegations with hard facts, and to substantiate them when called upon to do so.”
Commiserating with Senator Magnus Abe, who was allegedly shot with rubber bullets during a rally in Port Harcourt, the Senate President said he has mandated the Senate Committees on Air Force and Police Affairs to investigate the incidents involving Senator Ali Ndume in Borno State and Senator Gbenga Obadara in Ogun State respectively.
Mark lauded the forbearance of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) in calling off the strike.
He said: “It is our sincere hope that the conditions which allow protracted strikes to occur in any sector at all are quickly addressed, and eliminated.”
He added that as with the case of the ASUU strike, the Senate would always invest the full weight of its moral and constitutional authority to help stave off further industrial actions, even before they occur and wade in to resolve them when they inevitably occur.
He said: “In the spirit of the accommodation which the Federal Government has struck with ASUU, the grievances of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) should similarly be looked into, and quickly resolved. Compromise and flexibility from both sides will help the ongoing efforts to resolve the stalemate.”
