The Senate President, Bukola
Saraki on Monday, lambasted the national leader of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for attacking him.
In a statement by Yusuph
Olaniyonu, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Saraki said Tinubu on
Sunday released another of his expected quarterly vicious attack on his person.
Saraki, while replying Tinubu’s
allegations, and also said he was desperate to be Nigeria’s president in 2023.
It reads: “We have taken it for
granted that Tinubu’s attack on Saraki every three months (Quarterly) will come
as expected, we would just have ignored his statement but for the fact that it
was filled with untruth, fallacies and misrepresentations. The statement was
another effort to sell a concocted narrative about the Eighth National Assembly
and its leadership.
“First, he alleged that national
budgets were delayed, distorted, padded, new projects introduced, funds for
projects reduced, “to halt progress of government”. It is unfortunate that a
man like Tinubu who had been in the Senate (though for 22 months and under a
military regime) should have a better understanding of how the legislature
works. The passage of budgets is definitely not the exclusive responsibility of
the leadership of the Senate.
“Most of the work is done in the
various committees. These committees are headed by Senators representing
different parties. It is the level of co-operation between the committees and
the MDAs in the timely defence of the budget proposals and the ability of the
two chambers of the National Assembly to reconcile their figures that usually
determine how soon the budget is passed. To put the blame of budget delay on
the Senate President or Speaker can only be mischief, or at best, playing to
the gallery.
“It is also a known fact that any
so-called delay in the passage of budgets under the Eighth National Assembly is
traceable to the refusal of heads of MDAs to defend the budget proposals for
their agencies on time. Last year, the President himself had to direct the
Secretary to Federal Government to compel heads of MDAs to appear before the
National Assembly committees following the report made to him by Dr. Saraki and
Speaker Yakubu Dogara.
“So, if a man like Tinubu is
spreading this falsehood about budget passage and delay being deliberately
orchestrated by the National Assembly leadership, one wonders whether he tries
to even understand what happens in the federal legislature at all or is that
the only thing that is of interest to him is “jockeying and maneuvering for
influence”, as he puts it.
“To further make the points here
clear, we invite Tinubu to look at the records of the time of submission of
budgets and their passage since 2010 and he will see that with the exception of
the 2013 budget which was passed on December 20, 2012, all the budgets have
been passed between March and May of the same fiscal year.
“This should give him a better
understanding of the fact that the date the Appropriations Bill is submitted to
parliament and the readiness of the MDAs to defend the proposals submitted as
well as timely agreement on the figures by both chambers of the National
Assembly are the main determining factors in when the budget is eventually
passed. So, Tinubu should see that the facts cannot support his spins and fake
narrative.
“In all the three budgets already
passed by the National Assembly, we challenge Tinubu to make specific reference
to where Dr. Saraki and the leadership of the National Assembly “sought to pad
with pet projects” as he alleged. Tinubu should be graceful enough to
substantiate this allegation. We consider that allegation careless,
irresponsible and callous. We therefore demand that he should withdraw it.
“However, there is need to let
him know that it is the constitutional responsibility of the National Assembly
to review the proposals sent by the executive and where it deems necessary, it
is within the power of the legislature to make changes. A good example, is the
decision by the National Assembly to include in the 2018 budget the one percent
of the total budget, amounting to N33 billion, as allocation for Universal
Health Coverage as provided by an extant law, which had been hitherto observed
in the breach. Is this what Tinubu considers as budget padding? And this was a
decision which was praised across the world as a real benefit to ordinary
people across the country.
“Tinubu also claimed that the
Senate leadership ‘stymied APC legislative initiatives while attempting to
hoist noxious reactionary and self interested legislation on the nation’. We
wonder what these ‘legislative initiatives’ are because in the four years of
the Buhari administration, it has only forwarded 11 bills to the Senate, apart
form the routine annual appropriations and supplementary budget proposals.
“Two of these bills, the Mutual
Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill and the National Minimum Wage Bill, have
been passed. One of the bills, the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition
Act (amendment) Bill was withdrawn by the executive following the disagreement
between the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“Also, another one, the National
Water Resources Bill was rejected because it infringed on the rights of states
to develop their water resources. The remaining seven which are the National
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Establishment Bill, Federal Institute
of Industrial Research for the Development of Micro, Small and Large Industries
Bills, the Suppression of Piracy Bill, Communications Service Tax Bill, 2015;
Federal Institute of Industrial Research Bill, 2017; Raw Materials Research and
Development Council (Repeal and Re-enactment Bill 2018; Nigeria Natural
Medicine Development Agency (Establishment etc) Bill, 2018- are at various
stages of passage.
“As a leader of the Eighth
National Assembly, Dr. Saraki is proud that under his watch, the Senate has
surpassed the records of all previous Senate in the number of bills passed, the
significance of these bills to the revival of the economy, the fight against
insecurity and corruption, improvement in the provision of health service and
the education sector, as well as better social service delivery to the
generality of the people.
“The bills passed, motions moved,
intervention made and frequent engagement with the people were all directed
towards addressing the day to day issues that affect the lives of the ordinary
Nigerians. This Senate has passed 282 bills (the highest any Senate had passed
is 129 bills recorded by the 5th Senate), among which is the Mutual Assistance
in Criminal Matters Act, Public Procurement Act (amendment) Bill, Petroleum
Industry Governance Bill, Electoral Act (amendment) Bill, Police Reform Bill,
Police Trust Fund Bill, Nigeria Railways Authority Bill, Company and Allied
Matters Act (amendment) Bill, Secured Credit Transactions Act, Whistleblowers
Protection Bill, constitution amendment bills, Discrimination Against Persons
With Disability Bill, Electronic Transaction Bill, Bankruptcy and Insolvency
Act, North East Development Commission (NEDC) Act, Witness Protection Programme
Bill, Credit Bureau Reporting Bill, Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Educational
Institution Bill and Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshots Bill,
National Financial Intelligence Agency Act, Federal Audit Services Commission
Bill, among others. It will be good to know which of these Bills Tinubu
believes is “self interested” and not in the interest of Nigerians.
“We will like to point the
attention of Mr. Tinubu to the fact that most of the bills listed above got
international and national endorsement from stakeholders who lauded the Senate
for the move. For example, the Financial Intelligence Database Agency
(Ultrascan) commended the Senate for passing the NFIU Act which enabled the
country to be re-admitted into the Egmont Group.
“Also, the Nigeria Police
leadership have praised the Senate for passing the Police Reforms Bill and the
Police Trust Fund Bill. Again, when the National Assembly in the 2018 budget
gave effect to the law allowing one percent of the budget to be devoted to
Primary Health Care Delivery, it got kudos from Bill Gates, Bono, Dr. Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus of WHO, and various national groups who believe the move
would bring health care delivery to the poor people across the country. The
passage of the UBEC Act (amendment) Bill was praised by Pakistani child
education campaigner and youngest Nobel Laureate, Yousafzai Malala.
“When the PIGB was passed, APC
led by Tinubu, National Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), among
others, hailed the Senate for a good job. Even, the World Bank commended the
National Assembly for the passage of the Company and Allied Matters Act and
Secured Transactions in Movable Assets and Credit Bureau Reporting Act. Of
course, all these initiatives will be ignored by a man who is still sulking
because his vow in 2015 that Saraki and Dogara will never lead the National
Assembly did not materialize.
“Tinubu and his mob have been
sponsoring the narratives in the media that the emergence of the present
leadership of the National Assembly was a mistake. We hereby submit that Dr.
Saraki and other leaders of the National Assembly were democratically elected
by their colleagues. And it is because they are the choice of their colleagues
that they have remained in office for the past 46 months, despite all the plots
hatched by anti-democratic, reactionary and fascist elements pretending to be
‘progressives’. In fact, Tinubu should know that if there was any mistake made
on June 9, 2015, It was the miscalculation by himself and his small cabal in
the APC who felt they could decide for the Senators-elect and House of
Representatives Members-elect.
“When they failed after their
grand-standing that they could always got whatever they desired, they resorted
to undermining the institution of the legislature and waging a campaign of calumny
against the law making body. It is now clear that those who took Senators away
from the chambers contrary to the directive contained in the proclamation
signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 9, 2015 are ‘mistake personified’.
It is obvious that If they repeat that arrogance during the inauguration of the
Ninth National Assembly, they will fail again because Nigeria is greater than
them. The institution of the legislature is bigger than the over-bloated egos
of these power mongers and dirty schemers.
“Let us repeat again that we know
that a Machiavellian politician like Tinubu will forever agonize over his
erroneous belief that Dr. Saraki frustrated his ambition from becoming running
mate to President Muhammadu Buhari through a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015. In
his usual cavalier manner, he will stop at nothing to punish Saraki for that.
We know that this attack is not about the interest of the nation or that of
President Muhammadu Buhari. It is about his 2023 ambition and it is obvious in
the statement as he struggled to explain this away.
“However, Tinubu should leave Dr.
Saraki out of his schemes and manipulations towards 2023. It is obvious his
arbitrary and tactless interference in the process for the emergence of the
leadership of the Ninth Assembly is already falling through. The frustration
from this experience might have been responsible for this needless and baseless
outbursts. Our only advice for him is that if he is interested in the stability
of the National Assembly, he should allow the members to elect their leadership
in consultations with the party leadership. He should stop treating the
legislators like hapless pupils receiving orders from a cane-wielding
headmaster.
“A situation where he, Tinubu, is
dictating to elected legislators and ordering them to either comply with his
directives or get out of the party will not augur well for the legislature in
the next dispensation. History should have thought him that only a leadership
that truly enjoys the support of members can help the President and his
administration to achieve their objectives. It is a good development that the
candidates for the various positions are already reaching out to their
colleagues and forging alliances. We can see that after he realized that he has
misfired, he is trying to retrace his step and in his usual devious manner, he
is looking for scapegoats. We advise him to leave Dr. Saraki out of his
manipulations and ‘jockeying and maneuvering for influence and power’, as he
termed it.
“The Eighth Senate has done very
well and will leave a good legacy. Despite all the underhand tactics to
undermine the legislature by outsiders and the public posturing, members have
always worked as a team on critical issues that have benefits for our people
and our nation. That is why hitherto unachievable legislations like the PIGB,
Police Reforms Act and other bills or amendments to existing laws were passed
with ease because the members and the leadership know that they are elected as
Senators of the Federal Republic not as party representives.
“Tinubu should know that while we
await his attack for the next quarter, we can only advise him to stay on
facts.”
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