Agenda For Civic Space & Governance

A country where democracy thrives, prosperity thrives. JFK will sponsor and support laws that ensure democracy continues to grow stronger in Nigeria through legislation that limits the power of the executive to abuse the loopholes in the constitution while denying Nigerians of their fundamental rights. Beyond this prevention of the abuse of power, governance reform bills will be pursued in the 10th National Assembly. Below are a few of these

A BILL FOR AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF CONDUCT BUREAU AND TRIBUNAL ACT

The Act should be amended to allow the Code of Conduct Bureau to disclose asset declaration data of public office holders in open data format on a yearly basis and upon request by any citizen. The law should also be amended to extend the category of persons who should declare their assets to include persons who hold funds in trust for the public but are not government workers. Such persons include heads of religious organizations like churches and mosques, trustees and principal officers of NGOs and charitable organizations.

A BILL FOR AN ACT TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION TO MAKE ANTI-CORRUPTION BODIES ALLOCATION A FIRST LINE CHARGE:

To preserve the Independence of Anti-Corruption Bodies, the Constitution should be amended to include the EFCC and the ICPC in the list of bodies entitled to receive their allocation directly from the consolidated revenue account. This gives them the same level of independence the National Assembly & judiciary currently have, thus insulating them from interference from the Executive and the National assembly.

SPONSOR THE POLICE OFFICERS & ANTI-CORRUPTION PERSONNEL WELFARE & RECRUITMENT REGULATION ACT

This bill shall contain provisions for the Improvement of welfare and capacity of all Police officers & anti corruption personnel. The bill shall propose the following:

• Free education for 3 of their children up to masters level (children of judges enjoy this privilege to Ph.D level) and priority access to mortgage for home ownership, as when they die in the line of service, their families are always left homeless.
• Provide performance based incentives for personnel.
• Improve recruitment strategy to attract the brightest and best minds.

SPONSOR A BILL TO PREVENT THE ARBITRARY BAN BY ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY ON THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE FREEDOMS WE ARE GUARANTEED BY THE CONSTITUTION E.G THE TWITTER BAN.

The bill would lay down a framework that any agency or department will be required to go through before such an action limiting the freedoms or preventing the access of Nigerians to certain rights can be carried out, before the court of law and will be easily challengeable or defendable by the people.

SPONSOR THE PUBLIC OFFICERS HARMONIZED EMOLUMENT/PENSION BILL

One of the most burdensome governance challenges bedeviling Nigeria is the overwhelming cost of governance. This problem is further worsened by the duplicated sums being paid to past elected/public office holders.

There are 17 ex governors serving as senators, 5 ex governors, 2 ex deputy governors and 1 former acting governor serving as minister and all these earn double salaries enabled by relevant laws. There are also retired military and police officers who are now elected or appointed public office holders earning both their pension for their past jobs or positions and earning remuneration for their present offices. This has greatly increased the percentage of government wasted on avoidable recurrent expenditure at the expense of capital expenditure.

A BILL TO MANDATE THE INPUT OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE PROCESS OF LEGISLATION BEFORE ANY BILL PROPOSAL IS PASSED AND FORWARDED TO THE PRESIDENT FOR ASSENT

Democracy at its fundamental level requires the participation of the people not just during elections, but especially in the formulation of laws and policies, holding leaders accountable and ensuring that democracy thrives. The current legislative procedures do not mandate the input of the public before laws are passed. This is an anomaly and does not bode well for the interests of citizens.