As the legislature duels with the executive

It is now obvious that the battle line has been drawn between the executive and the legislative arms of government. And sometimes the parties to a battle may not all know it. In Warri, in the heart of the Niger Delta, the famed fishermen say if there is too much rubbish in the soup, even the blind man will know that it is not just crayfish in the soup.

The bone of contention here seems to be the insistence by the executive to keep the EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu, in his seat despite the senate rejecting his nomination by the executive. There are already casualties of this battle. The 2018 federal budget is held up in the legislature and perhaps for the very first time, the Monetary Policy Committee of a major economy cannot meet simply because it has no quorum. The senate must screen and ratify the nominations to the MPC by the president and the upper legislative arm has made it quite clear it will not countenance that request by the executive at this time.

It was widely believed that the botched MPC meeting would have begun the process of lowering the burden of credit for Nigeria’s businesses, especially SMEs upon whom the hope for economic growth has been placed. Now, they must all wait and it is not good enough.

Somehow it would appear both parties are unwilling to come to the table and for as long as this struggle lasts, a tottering economy suffers.

There are those who insist that the senate by not confirming Magu is playing politics with this critical appointment, but no one has said enough to convince Nigerians that it makes good sense to sacrifice the health of the economy on the altar of just one Nigerian. After all, in a country of 180 million people, surely another Magu can be found.

While the real battle may be in the law court where the senate president is battling to free himself from corruption charge levelled against him by the executive, some have also pointed to the fact that the president has so far refrained from granting a proper and due national award to both the speaker and the president of the senate as has been done to former holders of the offices.

Whatever is the reason for this gridlock, Nigerians deserve better from those they elected to serve them, whether they be in the executive or the legislature. While this government is quick to claim that it brought the nation out of a debilitating economic recession, there are those who believe that the recession, Nigeria’s first in almost three decades, was caused by the ineptitude of this government. This government must expect that it will be held to account by the people.

KEVIN ODEGAH