Abdul Ahmed Ningi, the suspended Senator representing Bauchi central, put the National Assembly on the defensive with his accusation that its leadership colluded to ‘pad’ the national budget from a publicly-known sum of 25 trillion naira to 28 trillion naira. Information from relevant arms of government since the allegation was made shows that Senator Ningi did not get his facts right. However, the National Assembly, which faced the biggest challenge to its reputation as acknowledged by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, did not do enough to vindicate itself and assure the public of its integrity.
Worse still, it missed an important opportunity to educate the public on how the budgeting process works, the power of appropriation that the institution wields, and how this power is exercised in the review of the budget proposal brought forth by the President, who is the head of the Executive branch of government. Simply put, the National Assembly has a media problem.
Consider how some of its ranking members who granted public interviews to clarify its position framed the issue. Across several media platforms, the insinuation was given that National Assembly members were awarded sums of money covered by the budget. It was common to hear Senators offer the refrain “I was given 500 million naira.”
Those familiar with how budgeting works and the role of the National Assembly understand that this refers to projects beneficial to their constituencies which they successfully advocated for its inclusion in the budget. However, for the vast majority of the public, who remain ignorant of the said process, such framing contributes to the widely-held assumption that the National Assembly abuses its oversight powers to award large sums of money to themselves in a ‘chop-make-I-chop’ arrangement.
This is proven true by the responses of the public to such declarations. Callers into popular radio programs, which remain an effective feedback channel and a window into public thought, continue to criticize the Senators for ‘sharing money in Abuja’ while they suffered.
Nigeria’s diversity and differing political priorities mean that elections would throw an interest cast of political actors, each with their unique skill and appeal. But effective communication and public engagement should be a common denominator, especially on grave national issues.
Between politically-motivated outbursts and poor framing of an issue, the National Assembly finds itself in a constant battle with damaging narratives and a hostile public. Having gone unaddressed for so long, the call for a return to a uni-cameral legislature, which will see the scrap of the Senate, has endured. To solve it, it must prioritize media training for its occupants as part of their rite of passage. And only its best should be sent to address the public on sensitive matters, to avoid needless escalation and erosion of trust.
