Barely 24 hours after former president Olusegun Obasanjo described the National Assembly as a cesspit of corruption, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has replied him.
Saraki, in his reply, acknowledged the former president’s advice and reeled out some of the bold steps the Eighth Senate was currently embarking on.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), I acknowledged that I received a letter from former president Olusegun Obasanjo where he called the attention of the National Assembly to some issues.
“I will want to assure President Obasanjo that the leadership and membership of the Eighth Senate are committed to good governance, transparency, accountability, due process and responsiveness to the economic reality of our nation. It is for this reason that the legislative chamber has introduced bold and progressive reforms in the management of the finances of the National Assembly.
“This is of even greater importance during a tough fiscal period for our country… I have canvassed that we must lay bare the budget of the Senate, nay, the National Assembly and its affiliated institutions.”
Speaking on some current reforms the Senate was executing, he harped on “the need for us to work towards blocking all areas of revenue leakages while also strengthening the anti-corruption agencies so that the little resources that are now available will serve the interest of the overwhelming majority.”
Across the aisle, in the House of Representatives, Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, said Obasanjo ought to know that the vehicles to be purchased for lawmakers are strictly to be used for oversight functions.
He stated that though he didn’t find it necessary to ‘join issues’ with the former president, it was important to explain to the public why the House needed new cars.
He said: “I am not going to go into any level of altercation with him, but, he should realise that these vehicles are meant purely for oversight functions.
“Does he believe we should not carry out oversight functions or probably we should rely on ministries and agencies of government even when travelling outside the states to carry out these responsibilities?
“He is at will to say whatever he wants to say but I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that these vehicles are not luxury vehicles, they are utility vehicles which we will definitely use in carrying out our responsibilities.”
On his part, Chairman of the Committee on Media and Publicity, Abdulrazak Namdas, urged the Obasanjo to take a second look at the Eighth House of Representatives, and added that issues raised by him belong to period when he served as president.
Obasanjo, had in a letter, dated January 13, 2016 and addressed to Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, described lawmakers as greedy and corrupt, following their plans to purchase new cars valued at over N4 billion.
He had also specifically alleged that the lawmakers had been involved in fixing and earning salaries and allowances far above what the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission approved for them.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dino Melaye, reacting to Obasanjo’s letter to the leadership of the National Assembly, described it as “a misplacement of anger.”
Insisting that Obasanjo’s regime exposed the National Assembly to corruption and easy money, Melaye, in a statement, said he expected the former president to have forgiven all those who “defrauded him in 2007, those who collected his money and refused to implement the third term agenda.”
He said: “I have tremendous respect for former president Obasanjo, elder statesman, respected pan Africanist and committed patriot. I went through the letter written to all senators and members of the House of Representatives. The letter, I can see is a misplacement of anger.
“Our leader is mistaking the Eighth National Assembly as the same Senate that defrauded him in 2007: Those, who collected his money and refused to implement the 3rd term agenda. I appeal to Baba that we are not the ones please. After nine years of that bribery saga, the first of its kind, I expect forgiveness to have taken place.
“There was the case of bribery introduced by the Obasanjo’s regime in the desperate attempt to remove Speaker Ghali Umar Na’abba from office then. In fact, there was open display of that bribery money on the floor of the house. That government exposed the National Assembly to corruption and easy money. I hope this is not in an attempt to cover up and distract attention from the Halliburton and Siemens corruption allegations.
“While I am against corruption anywhere in Nigeria, I will not support accusations based on anger and vindictiveness. The Eighth Senate should also look inwardly and purge itself of all the deliberate misgivings of the past. Nigeria must work and we must support the anti corruption stand of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.”
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