The 10th Senate Deputy Chief Whip and Senator representing Kano Central Senatorial District, Sen. Rufai Sani Hanga (NNPP) bares his mind on NIDAR Bill and the Envelope Budgetary System in an interview with Pan Afric Reporters
By Onwe Wisdom
Distinguished Senator Sir, last year we had a conversation with you where you narrated the important of your bill for the establishment of National Institute of Drugs Awareness and Rehabilitation Regulation (NIDAR), having scaled through second reading; Nigerians, our of interest for the Bill want to know what next. What do you expect, and what are the feelers you are getting from your colleagues in the Senate regarding the Bill?
Well, what I expect is for the bill to go through public hearing. Nigerians especially people like you and others that are abreast with the menace of drugs, it abuses and other related substance in our society should be supportive and propagate this bill to the awareness of Nigerian to gain the need support for it’s passage in the assembly and subsequent assent of Mr. President.
“I am not an island of knowledge, I expect Nigerians especially stakeholders and authority in that field to come and share their idea as well as their opinion of the Bill.
“It is this opinion and idea that will shape this bill encourage the Senate to accept it as an instrument of national growth and development.”
A group that was interest in the Bill requested for appointment to have us discuss, they were given appointment and I sat here with them, discussed specifically on the bill. My Aide brought them. They said they were interested in the bill I sponsored. They were very happy about it, and they brought a write up as their contribution.
“This is a contribution, and I will continue to call for support for the bill. I told them, when we resume the listing, I will push a request for a public hearing date to be given by the leaders of the Senate, so that we can announce the public hearing and people like you and other interested in the Bill will come out to make input, share their opinion and ideas. That is what I want. That’s my position now, because you see some of my colleagues opposed the Bill when I first presented the bill, but accepted it after the important of the Bill is known to them, I didn’t do it ignorantly, I was the chairman of the drugs, narcotics and financial crimes committee of the fifth Senate. I know the NDLEA bill. There are certain things that are not there in the NLDEA bill to take care of this. The thinking is to give NLDEA the option to amend the bill to include this in the NLDEA bill, but can it be done? It seems not possible, because NLDEA, what they do now is attack this drug abusers and dealers. They arrest them, they interrogate them, they sue and jail/confine them. But confinement is not rehabilitation.”
“After their confinement, comes the stigma, people say this man was jailed, this man is a drug abuser. You know this man is this, and that, he was imprisoned by this, and that, that is the stigma that goes round with the people and doesn’t add meaningfully to eliminating completely to ending drugs abusing in the country”
This does not provide or proffered the needed solutions on the abuses of drugs and other related substance, it is on this note that I say I have the idea.
Distinguished sir, people’s are concerned that should the Bill is assented to, there will be challenge of funding and other resources required to run the institution, don’t this posh a challenge to the acceptance of the bill?
“No, the concept we have is not for the institution to go and arrest an offender, if you have a boy/girl, know somebody, have somebody who is in danger as a result of drugs or any elicit substance, you take him there to them for rehabilitation, like hospital. Yeah, you see, it’s like hospital. They will receive him, accommodate and rehabilitate him.
“There will be classes and accommodation well equipped with lecturers where they will undergo training until they are normal alongside doctors and psychologist( social workers who will man the medical aspect of their condition.
With this combination, when somebody is fully rehabilitated, such a person will be reintegrated back to society with relevant skill sets with some incentives to provide value; If the rehabilitated person is a businessman for instance and want to go back into his business, certainly he will be given the capital he wants, this will provide for him a hub where he will pick up and try go back to living his normal life. This in found in countries like UK, USA and etc.
“It will be good for us, yes you talked about money and to be sincere, there is nothing too much to spend on Nigerians, who owns the money isn’t it Nigerians? The money is Nigeria and Nigeria is Nigerians. The government is ours and there is nothing too much to spend on bettering Nigeria and Nigerians.
There are specialized hospitals (psychiatrist) which is meant to handle psychological illness and possibly rehabilitate the patients, don’t you think it will be duplication having national institutes of drugs awareness and regulations side by side with the existing specialized psychiatrist hospital?
No, psychiatric hospitals take care of psychiatrists patients. I mean psycho/Mad person. Though, some may go mental by taking drugs but that not withstanding, there are doctors that treat such cases and it’s different from what we are proposing which is awareness and to regulate. This one is to give awareness to forestall and in worst case scenario rehabilitate victims.
While we look forward to the publice hearing of the Bill, what’s your assessment of the budget defense by MDAs so far?
Budget defense, defending nothing? These people are not defending anything because they are not retiring, they are not answering question properly on what happened to the previous amounts they were given.
The essence of the defense as a representative of the Nigeria citizen is to interrogate and scrutinize why is this? Why that and ensure no illegality in the budget.
Besides, the envelope budget system adopted does resonate with our economic reality. MDAs should come up a budget that reflect their vision, mission, objectives and goals for the year, then bring it to the parliament to interrogate and scrutinize for it efficiency and effectiveness in solving specific needs of the nation, not the other way round where you say to MDA “a” take this, MDA “b” take that and so on.
“They said, this ministry, this what your envelope, this is how much you can spend this year, this is what you can spend on this and that is that no matter what defense is done here, no matter what opinion, no matter whatever is done … So, what’s the point, and what’s the need of National assembly?
The envelope system should be discarded. Completely. Should be discarded. The envelope system is not good. It’s wrong. It is not correct. Let every ministry,department and agency brings his budget. Let the Senate, and House look at it carefully, from A to Z, check the previous year and see the present one, then interrogate and thoroughly scrutinize it then give an opinion based on national priority patriotically to either pass it or note. You can either add or deduct. That is the normal budgeting system you see.
An agency that has not had a vehicle for more than 15 years. All the vehicles are rickety and no provision for them to buy a vehicle. The whole envelope (budget) given them can’t buy vehicle for the organization and they have offices all over the country. The budget given them cannot buy all the vehicles needed for the specific elites. No, I don’t want to mention the name.
We have seen a situation where some of these ministries, department and agency are complaining that the envelope given them is not enough to run the offices. This envelope system is actually limited, what they are getting is not enough for them, of course, to run the ministry. Of course, for example, Nigeria is hungry. You want you want food for the people, want to encourage agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and you give them a persalry sum that’s less what two states give to it agriculture (food production). How can they feed the people? And you are giving construction of roads and other things, too much money more than the need. So what are you talking Yes, I’m just giving agriculture as an example; National priority.
Don’t you think government is trying to control spending and fight corruption through the envelope system?
No, what kind of corruption can the envelope system fights? No, and that is not the way to control spending. Envelope is not a way to control spending. The only way to control spending is to thoroughly interrogate and scrutinize whatever accesses of executives, look into the budget carefully. The budget is normally overhead and capital. They will bring the list of their staff with grade level, and we know how much is paid to each grade level, total per annum and their allowances. Look at vehicles, logistics and social issues. That is how it is. You will know you can do it. And for capital, we want to build this. We want to buy this. We want to buy this. Yes, it will. It’s all for us to say, yes, it’s okay. You require them, but no, you don’t require them. You already have. You have these things? We approve it or not? That is it. But envelope, you are given an envelope. You must try something to cover the day, even if you don’t need you cover it. You Cover it.
