Present Nigerian Lawmakers More Corrupt Than Their Predecessors – Former President Obasanjo

– Recalls how lawmakers almost frustrated establishment of EFCC

By Philip Nwosu, Thesun.ng

Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo has unleashed a scathing attack on incumbent National and State Assembly members, describing them as much worse than those who served in the first, second, and third republics.

In his newly released book, “Nigeria Past and Future: Contemplations on Nigeria’s History and Vision for Tomorrow,” Obasanjo accused members of the national and state assemblies of institutionalising corruption and placing personal interests above national development.

Specifically in chapter seven of the book, titled, “Lawmakers at Federal and State Levels,” Obasanjo described constituency projects championed by legislators as daylight unarmed robbery devised out of hunger for illegitimate money.

He recalled how, during his tenure, the passage of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Establishment Bill was deliberately delayed by lawmakers who feared that the law would land many of them in jail.

He said the bill, initially designed to empower the anti-graft body, was watered down after a year and a half in the National Assembly.

“Some of them said that if they passed the bill as I had sent it, most of them would go to jail after their term as lawmakers, I had to assent to the version they passed because if I vetoed it and sent it back, it would never have seen the light of the day,” he wrote.

He also accused lawmakers of altering other bills to suit their personal interests or to satisfy lobbyists, citing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Bill as an example.

According to him, state governments bribed lawmakers to remove their financial contributions from the NDDC funding structure.

Obasanjo said the worst action of the current crop of lawmakers is their insatiable appetite for corruption and breach of the Constitution.

He accused them of violating constitutional provisions by fixing their own salaries and allowances, which he argued, are higher than those of legislators in some developed countries.

“When I was president, I refused to release funds I considered unacceptable. On many occasions, I was threatened with impeachment, but I was not moved,” he recalled.

The former president was particularly scathing about constituency projects, which he said distorted national budgets and were used as channels for siphoning public funds.

His words: “In their hunger for illegitimate money, the lawmakers devised what they called constituency projects, unilaterally inserted into the budget without consultation with the executive. These projects are daylight unarmed robbery. All involved must be treated as criminals.”

He added that oversight visits by lawmakers had also become an avenue for extortion.

“They visit ministries and parastatals purely to collect money. It is shockingly bad,” he wrote.

Obasanjo concluded that successive presidents had failed to call lawmakers to order, thereby becoming accomplices in the crime.”