SAN FRANCISCO, January 28, (THEWILL) – Chairman of the National Assembly, Senator Bukola Saraki on Thursday responded to the open letter written to him by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, assuring the latter that the 8th Assembly is committed to good governance, transparency, accountability and due process.
The former President had, in a strong-worded letter addressed to Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, accused federal lawmakers of being “insensitive” to the Nigerian economic situation by planning to buy cars for themselves, accusing them of fiscal policy irresponsibility, extravagance and impunity
Obasanjo stated that a pool of car would have been sufficient to do the committee work, in view of all the allowances the lawmakers have already collected since their inauguration in June 2015.
While accusing the lawmakers of perpetrating constitutional breaches by not abiding by the emoluments fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, he challenged them to be transparent in their finances by publishing their recurrent expenditure and opening their books to an external auditor from 1999 till date.
Saraki responded to this and other issues raised by Obasanjo in a statement he personally signed on Thursday. He assured the elder statesman that the National Assembly, which he chairs, was aware of the current economic realities and was also cutting its expenditure.
According to the Senate President, “Yesterday, I acknowledged receipt of a letter from former President Olusegun Obasanjo in which 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 8th 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.
“Like I said, the Senate must lead by example in terms of our own funding, budgets and accountability; showing, beyond doubt, value for money.
“I have canvassed that we must lay bare the budget of the Senate, the National Assembly and its affiliated institutions.
“I equally canvassed the need to strengthen the capacity of the legislative institution to carry our effective oversight of the executive arm.”
“That way, we can ensure the budget leads to the realisation of the policy objectives of the Buhari Administration,’’ he wrote.
Saraki went on to restate the determination of the upper chamber under his leadership, to work to block all areas of revenue leakages while also strengthening the anti-corruption agencies.
While promising to formally reply Obasanjo’s letter in due course where he will outline some actions of the Senate to address concerns raised by him, the Senate President wrote, “I appreciate President Obasanjo for his consistent role in always reminding those of us in government about our responsibilities to the general public and offering timely advice where necessary.”
