By: Big Jay
Clerk Ifeoma Ofill expressed frustration over the lack of action on issues raised by citizens, noting that people often discuss problems without taking concrete steps to address them. She said people do not always listen, legislators are not consistently present, and citizens have limited power to act on many of the issues they raise.
She also questioned the way some reports are handled, suggesting that individuals may receive payment for preparing reports without properly carrying out the required work. She said that, as a Catholic, she would rather go for confession.
On the issue of financing public hearings, she recalled an experience from the previous year when a committee contacted her regarding the engagement of a consultant to prepare a report. According to her, the consultant did not attend the public hearing. She questioned why materials should be given to someone who did not attend the hearing to prepare the report. She explained that she writes her reports herself.
Despite being only a few steps away from retirement from the National Assembly, she said she personally prepared her report, typed it herself, and submitted it to the chairman. She added that if anyone wanted to make changes to the report, she was prepared to defend the work she had done.
She also questioned who holds people accountable for alleged atrocities within the National Assembly, asking who is responsible for punishing those found culpable.
According to her, citizens are not sufficiently involved in monitoring the budget process. She alleged that allocations meant for staff, training, books, and other needs are sometimes collapsed, including allowances budgeted for the National Assembly.
She further emphasized that citizens have limited power to demand accountability. According to her, they cannot freely hold press conferences because they have sworn to silence. She also alleged that statutory allocations have been collapsed and claimed that former officials sometimes call to ask for money.
In her words, they have “chopped their own and our own.”
