Yusuph Olaniyonu, the media aide to Bukola Saraki, an ex-president of the senate, says former President Muhammadu Buhari refused to fund constituency projects of the eighth national assembly because its members scrutinised his loan request.
Olaniyonu was reacting to comments by Senate President
Godswill Akpabio that he was not part of the red chamber led by Saraki noting
that it only funded 40 percent of constituency projects.
Akpabio was the minority leader at the time.
Under the leadership of Saraki, the senate rejected a loan
request by Buhari because it was not accompanied by explanations for projects
he intended to fund at the time.
In a statement on Thursday, Olaniyonu said Akpabio ought to
know about the issue because he was the minority leader for about three years.
“Our initial response was to ignore the report because Dr.
Saraki believes there are more serious existential issues confronting our
country and her people like hunger and extreme hardship which should keep the
leaders disturbed, busier, and more focused than throwing banters,” the
statement reads.
“However, he has also been persuaded by the need to explain
the project funding process in the budget such that members of the public will
not be misguided about the roles of the various institutions and individuals in
the process.
“For clarification,
the Saraki Media Office will want members of the public to note that then
President Muhammadu Buhari deliberately refused to approve funds for the
constituency projects of members of the eighth National Assembly obviously to
punish the members for questioning some of the loan requests presented by the
executive before the legislature.
“Instead of viewing the legislature’s scrutiny of the loan’s
request and the demand for elaborate explanations that would help in making
informed decisions as democratic necessities, the Buhari government’s reaction
was to be hostile and to seek to stifle the performance of the legislature.
“The refusal to fund constituency projects of members of the
legislature was used as one of the retaliatory instruments. That was the
experience of the 8th National Assembly.
“Mr. Akpabio, as Senate minority leader for over three years
in the four-year tenure of the 8th Senate, ought to know better and even his
experience as Senate President in the last eight months also ought to have made
him more informed.”
Saraki’s spokesperson said the eighth senate could not be
held responsible for failure to fund constituency projects.
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