Former Minister of External Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, said its unfair to lay the blames of the country’s current economic woes at the doorstep of past regimes. In a statement signed by the erudite professor of Political Science, Akinyemi, said the current economic recession in the country is a product of the 1999 Constitution (Section 162), that makes it mandatory for all monies collected by the Federal Government to be distributed among the Federal, State and Local Governments.
According to the Deputy National Chairman of the 2014 National Conference, “If we have to lay blame, it should be at the door of those responsible for the 1999 constitution.
This does not mean General Abubakar Abdulsalaam alone, or the military regime alone but includes elements of the judiciary and civilians who were all instrumental in midwifing that constitution.”
While stating that his intervention is not aimed at defending past presidents or regimes, he noted that, “My intervention is motivated by the desire to focus attention on the solution. It is thoroughly misleading to isolate and demonise past regimes for the situation where Nigeria has no savings.
“The fault is in the 1999 Constitution (Section 162) which makes it mandatory for all monies collected by the Federal Government with a few exceptions to be depoisited into a central account and to be distrib-uted among the Federal, State and Local Governments.”
Quoting the section, he said, “The exact language is as follows: Section 162. (1) The Federation shall maintain a special account to be called “the Federation Account” into which shall be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation,except the proceeds from the personal income tax of the personnel of the armed forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the Ministry or department of government chargedwith responsibility for Foreign Affairs and the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
“(2) The President, upon the receipt of advice from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, shall table before the National Assembly proposalsfor revenue allocation from the Federation Account, and in determining the formula, the National Assembly shall take into account, the allocation principles especially those of population, equality of States, internal revenue generation, land mass, terrain as well as population density; (3) Any amount standing to the credit of the Federation Account shall be distributed among the Federal and State Governments and the Local Government Councils in each State on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly.”
He stressed further that, “No provision was made for savings.
This with considerable charity can only be called an unforgivable oversight.” Akinyemi also highlighted the efforts of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan at ensuring that the nation put in place “savings through the backdoor such as Excess Crude Accounts and Commonwealth Savings Funds.
“Both were frustrated by the states and the judiciary. The irony in Nigerian history is that some of the State Governors who spearheaded the opposition to the attempts to save are now prominent in the Cabinet and the Senate.”
Giving a way out of the current economic impasse, Akinyemi advice that, “What previous administrations failed to do and which the present Buhari Administration should do is to singlemindedly drive a constitutional amendment that would follow the Norwegian model.
“The Norwegian experience involves setting up a Government Pension Fund Global into which 100 per cent of the government’s revenue from royalties and dividends are paid. In any one year, no more than four per cent is allowed to be drawn from the account. “This is the way forward and goes beyond name calling and the blame game,” the statement said.
Although the government appears resolute in blaming the past administrations for the current economic tumbling, the question is for how long will that be? Is it a diversionary tactics or a means of bringing Nigerians up to date with the reality of what took place? Time will tell!
Source: New Telegraph
