Philip Nyam Abuja 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabimila, has vowed that the lower chamber will not approve the 2021 Appropriation Bill if adequate provisions are not made for victims of police brutality and impunity.
He also assured that the House would include in the budget the financial implications of agreements reached between government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Gbajabiamila made the pledge in his address to his colleagues at the resumption of plenary on Tuesday.
He said: “I will not sign off on a 2021 Budget that does not include adequate provisions to compensate those who have suffered violence and brutality at the hands of the Police in Nigeria in the last two decades. “I will not sign off on a budget that does not meet the reasonable demands of ASUU, to which government has already acceded. There is no better time to rethink the system of funding for higher education in Nigeria.
“The current system does a great disservice to our children and our country and we must commit to changing it so that we can free our institutions of higher learning to be citadels where innovation thrives and excellence is a given.
“With my colleagues in the House, I will visit over the next week, some of the families of those who have lost loved ones to police brutality and when we come back, we will work together to honour the memory of those we have lost.”
The speaker also revealed that they will pass “an Electoral Reform Bill in time for the next general election so that we may continue to improve the process of electing our political representatives at all levels. “I will support the amendment of the constitution to ensure that the provisions on fundamental human rights have teeth, resource control is dealt with equitably and that the next generation of Nigerians does not inherit evident dysfunctions of our current system,” the speaker said.
Speaking on the ongoing protests across the country, the speaker hailed the youth for their courage and foresight, but appealed to them to suspend the protests to allow for implementation.
“To the young people across Nigeria who have led these protests, whose call for change has brought about this historical moment, you are the mid wives of national rebirth. “You have moved a nation to action and now you must join in doing the hard work of making real the vision of a more just, more prosperous and more resilient nation.
“We see your true cause. Please do not allow your righteous cause to be hijacked by those with base motives, who see in this moment an opportunity to pursue vendettas, to spread division, exploit the many existing fissures that exist in our society and bring our nation to its knees. “You have raised your voices and marched to demand a better Nigeria.
From Abuja to Washington, to Calgary and London, your voices have been heard. Do not allow anybody to convince you that to withdraw from the streets now is to concede defeat. “This is the time to move your agitation from the chaos of the streets to the painstaking deliberations and strategic partnerships that birth policy and produce legislation.
“It is time to mobilise your voices in support of specific policy interventions that will deliver on our shared objectives of national renewal and a country that reflects the best of us. I thank you, your country thanks you and history will be kind to you,” he stated.
According to the speaker, the nationwide protests that gave impetus to the House debate on the need to reform the police “have got more serious, with many reported instances of violence between state actors and protesters, between protesters and armed thugs who seek to hijack the passion and idealism of these protests for other nefarious purposes.”
