Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has
challenged governors to publish how much they get and spend as security
votes. Speaking while closing a retreat for management of the National
Assembly in Kaduna on Friday, Dogara, also challenged the Governors, to,
in the spirit of accountability and transparency publish how they
utilise funds allocated to local governments.
The Speaker, while reacting to an earlier speech by Kaduna state
governor, Malam Nasir Ahmed El-rufai, who urged the legislature to make
its budget public, disclosed that already, the bureaucracy has been
directed to publish the National Assembly budget beginning from 2017. “I will like to challenge him (El-rufai) to champion this cause for
transparency in the budgetary process from the National Assembly to
other arms of government.
‘The Judiciary first. We want to see clearly how Chief Executives of
States… how they are paid. What do they spend monthly as security votes?
And if they can publish what happens to local government funds under
their jurisdictions. That will help our discussion going forward,” he
said. Acknowledging the challenges faced by the management of the federal
legislature, Dogara stressed that the National Assembly is the most
misunderstood institution and that no parliament in the world can win
popularity contest and Nigeria’s National Assembly is not an exception. “When, for instance, public discussions on funding of the legislature
are being made, the entire bureaucracy is often completely
discountenanced, neither is any consideration given to the fact that
this is a special bureaucracy saddled with a multitude of ‘masters’ who
must be equally served in addition to service to the nation,” he
explained.
Dogara, said the Nigeria Civil Service will begin to record progress
when it breaks away from its usual tradition to new ways of carrying out
its functions and administration. He said for there to be productivity in the workforce, there must be
innovation, which is borne out of motivation of staff through rewards
such as promotions based on merit. “As leaders, you must be prepared to motivate the workforce.
Motivation is the key to innovation anywhere. For far too long, the
bureaucracy in Nigeria has failed to innovate because it is locked in a
tradition that defines boundaries that must not be crossed. ‘A tradition that says we have always done it this way and apportions
sanctions for those who dare doing it the other way even if the
outcomes are better. ‘These are chains that bind the bureaucracy in Nigeria from within.
Although the most difficult chains to break are those within us, we must
break them in order to free the bureaucracy and make it competitive and
innovative. The key to achieving this is undoubtedly, training and
retraining in an environment such as this.
“The necessity for every manager to fully understand the ecology of
his organization is not negotiable. The legislature is a distinct
organisation with several peculiarities, thereby making strategic
management approach an imperative. The management of the National
Assembly, whatever their managerial competencies, cannot provide
efficient and effective services to the legislature except they fully
understand and appreciate the organizational goals, objectives and the
attendant challenges. “I need not warn you of the bitter lesson of life, which is that it
will never offer you more than who you are. But the good news is that
you can become more. To become more, you must change your ideas and you
will never change your ideas until you learn something new. New things
learned are useless and cannot result in growth until you put them to
use. That is why you cannot over spend on training. Tell me the size of
your organization’s budget for training and retraining and I’ll predict
with absolute certainty, the future of your organization.
The Speaker commended the visionary leadership approach of the Clerk
to the National Assembly, Mohammed Ataba Sani-Omolori, for the swift
manner in which he was able to undertake a management needs assessment
of the institution, which is the basis for the retreat.
Source: Tribune
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