President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigerians perceive the
members of the national assembly as people who are “overly comfortable” and
“stuff wads of currency notes into their pockets for little work done.”
Buhari said this during the launch of the Green Chamber
magazine, a publication of the house of representatives, in Abuja on Wednesday.
The president, who was represented by Lai Mohammed, minister
of information, said such “wrong perception” of the legislative chamber is caused
by the lack of understanding of their works.
“Hitherto, the public perception of the national assembly is
that of a bicameral legislature where overly comfortable and highly overpaid
members merely stuff wads of currency notes into their pockets for little work
done,” he said.
“This wrong perception has resulted partly from the lack of
understanding of the enormous work of lawmakers, especially outside the glare
of television cameras.”
He said such magazine will serve as the “authoritative
source” of anything that goes on in the house, and would make the public to be
better informed on their activities.
“In addition, it will help the house to tell its own story,
rather than relying on others to take charge of their narrative,” he added.
“It is said that no one can tell your story better than you.
This magazine is long overdue. But like the saying goes, it’s better late than
never.”
GBAJA: WE ARE NOT OUT
FOR PROPAGANDA
In his remarks, Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of
representatives,said the magazine is “not a propagandist outlet.”
“Our service to the people who elected us, is not enabled in
any way by having at our beck and call, a media outfit that exists to massage
our egos and tell us what we want to hear,” he said.
“Public service always benefits from being held to impartial
account. Any public service conducted in secrecy is suspect.
“The vision for the Green Chamber Magazine is that through
this platform, the 9th house of representatives may contribute to the
enthronement of a journalistic tradition that is grounded in the ideals of
honest reporting and focused on making real the old promise of open
government.”
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