EXAMINING THE EFFECT OF POOR FUNDING OF CAPITAL PROJECTS ON THE WELFARE OF CITIZENS WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO KAGARA DAM IN NIGER STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
For Democracy to be evident in any Country ,there must be separation of power, adherence to the rule of law and supremacy of the constitution. There are basically two (2) types of governance system in the world namely; Parliamentary and Presidential system. The presidential system of government being practiced in Nigeria makes provision for separation of powers, apportioning disparate powers and duties to the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government. The doctrine of the separation of powers implies that there should be three separate organs of government with their separate sets of functions and powers. Essentially, the legislature as a symbol of true democracy, makes laws which the executive is under obligation to implement (Akinsanya, 2002). The judiciary is legally called upon in the determination of civil rights and obligations to interpret the laws. This system of government understands from the onset that powers may be abused and therefore introduced a system that guarantees checks and balances amongst the three arms of government (Bertanffy, 1968).
This doctrine empowers each tier to carry out its constitutional duties without fear or favour and also checks the excesses of one another. Legislative oversight of the Executive is constitutionally mandated to ensure actability and transparency in governance through the use of questions, oversight visits, audit reports, public and investigative hearings.
Oversight can be defined as the ‘ review, monitoring and supervision of government and public agencies including the implementation policy and legislation’ Madue (2012:431). It has also been defined as ‘keeping an eye on the activities of the executive on behalf of the citizens ( holding the executive to account ) (Hamalai , Suberu : 2014). The main function of the executive is to execute laws, orders, rules, regulations, decrees and to prevent the breaches of law. These are in addition to rendering social welfare services and punishing delinquents in other to make peace and good government. The roles and functions of the executives cannot be appraised or adjudged to be effective if the legislature fails to hold the executives accountable through its oversight functions.
A robust oversight function enriches democracy and good governance by; improving the efficiency and effectiveness of governmental operations, preventing poor administration and waste of public funds/ resources, preventing illegal and unconstitutional conducts, evaluating government programmes, policies and performance, informing the general public about government policies and ensuring that they reflect the interest of the public, ensuring that the executives complies with legislative proposals and constitutions, gathering new information to develop new legislation or to amend existing status and preventing executive encroachment on legislative authority.
The oversight function of the legislature resides in committees. According to Hamalai (Hamalia and Suberu ;2014), National Assembly has a fairly developed committee system for conducting its oversight responsibilities . . Hamalai and Suberu observed further that the committee system includes standing committees, special committees, joint committees, sub- committees, etc. on this note, Dan-Azumi (2015) averred that almost all legislatures depend on committees to conduct their businesses. Similarly, “The Committee System” (2017) stated that the committee system enables the legislatures to perform parliamentary functions more effectively and efficiently. This was also captured by Blondel (1973) when he averred that under the authoritarian regime of the communist state of the defunct Soviet Union, the committee system of organizing assembly into units for efficiency was never discountenanced. Impliedly, the committee system predates recent history.
Committees also execute the functions of oversight over the actions or inactions and other activities of the executive and its agencies. This helps the legislature to establish issues and address problem areas in order to make the necessary improvements or changes to create an effective process .
Notwithstanding the amount of valuable resources – human, material and financial, that have been committed to legislative oversight, outcome has never improved for the benefit of citizens. However, to appraise the oversight function of the Senate Committee on Water Resources, is to examine its actual conduct or quality of governance. In 2016, the committee embarked on oversight visit to one of the Agencies under its jurisdiction (Gurara Water Management Authority) and discovered a lot of irregularities ranging from abnormal financial year to a very low Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). This, the committee frowned at because a huge amount of money was appropriated to the agency without any output. Therefore, the Committee resolved that instead of the government to continually maintain such an agency without input, recommends that it should be scrapped. This oversight exposed the mismanagement of public funds.
Similarly, in 2017, the committee on its oversight visit to Nigeria Integrated Water Resources Management Commission observed that there was no Act establishing the agency. In other words, the agency was operating illegally and was not supposed to receive any allocation from the government. The committee advised the executive secretary on the implication of such action and charged him to hasten the bill to that effect so as to enable the agency operate within a legal framework. By this oversight, the committee was able to disclose a general breach of due process in the conduct of government activity.
In 2018, the committee went on oversight to Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency and the Director General of the Agency informed them that there are set backs in their outputs because of the overlapping responsibilities in some of their mandates with Agencies like; Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and prayed the Committee to intervene. The Committee has invited the two Agencies for further clarification with the hope of seeking for amendment of the Acts that established them to specify their jurisdictions. In doing this, the oversight to the Agency has improved legislation and administration.
It is against this background that this study attempts to critically appraise the effectiveness of oversight functions of the 8th Senate Committee on Water Resources.
Statement of the Research Problem
The quest for good governance by the electorate has made the oversight functions of the legislatives arm of government imperative to the deepening of democracy. The watchdog role of the legislature is meaningless without effective and robust oversight of the executive arm to ensure accountability, transparency, participation and rule of law. In Nigeria National Assembly, the oversight function resides in committees who conduct oversight on executive agencies under their jurisdiction.
It is the duty of the legislature to watch and control the government (executive); to throw the light of publicity in its acts, to compel a full exposition and justification of all of them which anyone considers questionable (Laszlo, 1969). In essence, it is the particular duty of the legislature to ensure an accountable executive and promote good governance which leads to prosperity of the citizenry.
The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria clearly provides in Sections 88 and 89 CFRN 1999 (as amended) for the powers to conduct investigations, procure evidence and issue summons/warrants to compel the attendance of any person by the National Assembly, it specifically in 88(2)b gives it power to expose corruption, inefficiency and waste in governance. In furtherance of this function, the House and Senate Standing Orders 17 Rule 109 and Order 103 respectively, empowers its committees to carry out oversight function on matters upon which the House has powers to make laws. One would expect that being that institution constitutionally empowered to make laws and investigate matters within the purview of its lawmaking jurisdiction; the legislature, will perform this sacred function judiciously and by so doing, assert itself as the true representative of the multi-ethnic conglomeration, Nigeria.
The basic aim of oversight is to expose corruption, waste and inefficiency in management of public funds. When oversight is efficiently carried on the executive (MDAs), corrupt practices are drastically reduced with a view to enhancing transparency and good governance.
The performance of oversight functions by the legislative arm of government in Nigeria has over the years fallen below expectation. This is as a result of poor commitment on the part of the leadership of this nation to the provisions of the nation’s constitution. Corruption, greed and the deteriorating infrastructural facilities have hampered the performance of government business.
However, the inability of the executive to transparently and timely funds the capital projects has also reduced the oversight functions of the National Assembly to mere courtesy visits to the MDAs. The truth remains that when capital project funds are not released and the overhead and personnel costs of the Ministries drain the remaining funds ,public bureaucracy becomes a futile daily routine. It is in view of the above that this study seeks to examine the effect of poor funding of capital projects on the welfare of citizens with particular reference to Kagara Dm in Niger State.
Objectives of the Study
The broad aim of this study is to examine the performance of legislative oversight functions during the period between 2015 and 2019, with reference to the Nigeria’s National Assembly and with particular focus on the Senate Committee on Water Resources oversight on the completion of Kagara Dam, in Niger State.
The study also has the following objectives:
- To examine the effectiveness of legislative oversight of senate committee on water resources.
- To examine the oversight role of the Senate Committee on Water Resources towards Ensuring the Completion of Kagara Dam.
- To identify the challenges confronting the Senate Committee on Water Resources in carrying out effective oversight.
- To suggest recommendations that would mitigate the challenges identified in III.
Research Questions
This research will provide answers to the following pertinent questions:
- What is the effect of legislative oversight in Nigeria?
- What is the oversight role of the Senate Committee on Water Resources towards ensuring the completion of Kagara Dam
- What are the challenges confronting the Senate Committee on Water Resources in effectively carrying out its oversight functions?
- How can these challenges be addressed?
Significance of the Study
This research is significant in a number of ways. The recommendations from this study is expected to proffer solutions to the myriads of problems associated with legislative oversight, especially in the National Assembly. The effectiveness of legislative oversights of the National Assembly have been met with both praise and condemnation in social, political and intellectual circles within and outside Nigeria. This research will suggest more viable solutions to the problems associated with legislative oversight.
This research is therefore significant as it critically evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of legislative oversight in Nigeria, and also makes its inputs on how the National Assembly, especially the Senate Committee on Water Resources improves its oversight. The direct beneficiaries of this research, therefore, are all Nigerians, both at home and in Diaspora, desirous of seeing a corrupt-free and prosperous Nigeria, since this research is dedicated to making forthright recommendations to alter Nigeria’s dwindling fortunes associated with legislative oversight for good.
The study is also significant it serve as a useful avenue for evaluating legislative oversight during the said period; their impacts, challenges and prospects. It will also be useful in promoting greater understanding of the importance of intergovernmental relations and interactions in Nigeria. The study is also important in the sense that it would contribute to knowledge as well as serve as reference point for future research endeavor with similar disposition.
Scope and Limitations of the Study
As mentioned earlier, this research seeks to analyze as well as critically appraise the effectiveness of legislative oversight of the Senate Committee on Water Resources. The content coverage of this research is the activities of the Senate Committee on Water Resources. The subject matter of this research is the investigative activities and oversight findings of the Senate Committee on Water Resources.
In carrying out this research, there were a number of limitations. Time was a major constraint in this study. It was difficult creating time out of my tight schedule to travel to kagara in Niger State for on the spot assessment of stake holders’ submissions. There was also the problem of having access to materials, especially secondary data to support the data gotten from the field.
Outline of Chapters
This research is divided into five chapters.
Chapter one undertakes the ground-mapping of the justification for this research. The background to the study is followed by a statement of the research problem, the aim and objectives of the study. The rest of this chapter deals with the scope and limitation of the study, its significance, and, finally, outline of chapters.
Chapter two, which is the literature review, appraised relevant views and opinion of scholars as well as theoretical framework which served as a framework of analysis for this study.
Chapter three, deals with the research methodology ranging from the research design, population of the study, sampling procedure, sample size, research instrument, validity and reliability of the research instrument, sources of data, method of data collection, Method of data analysis
Chapter four which forms the nucleus of this work goes to the substance of the subject matter by critically analyzing and answering the research questions in the form of data presentation and analysis. Each of them is analyzed side by side with relevant available data.
Chapter five summarizes this research, states the author’s observations, recommendations, and conclusion. It also provides specific contribution to the body of knowledge.