BEVERLY HILLS, April 07, (THEWILL) – Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State on Friday observed that members of the National Assembly are not whole-heartedly committed to the anti-corruption crusade of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
But this was countered by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who insisted that the legislature is lending its support to the fight against corruption at all levels of governance.
Speaking in a goodwill message at the closing ceremony of the five-day retreat of the National Assembly management personnel held in Kaduna, the Governor said the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, had become a cog in the wheel of progress in the fight against corruption in the country.
He said: “The National Assembly is seen as an opposition to the fight against corruption, the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, is seen as one of the fighters of the war against corruption, I can be blunt, and that image has to be worked on, now that we are going towards election year, the leadership and members of the National Assembly have to do something about the narratives.
“I don’t believe that it is entirely true, I also don’t believe it is entirely false, but it is important that the National Assembly do something about its image.”
El-Rufai, who pointed out that the annual budget of the legislature lacked transparency, said, “No transparency in your (National Assembly) budget, nobody knows your budget, how much you get paid.
“Publications are made about your salaries and allowances that I don’t believe are true, but they cannot be defended, because there is no transparency about your budget, personal cost and so on and so forth.
“I think you can do something about that to clear all the rumours and remove all the evil stories that are largely untrue.”
But disagreeing with the host governor through the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, the Senate President said; “In the National Assembly, we fight corruption through our support and as a matter of fact, the anti corruption agencies are our creation and for our budget, it is always in the public domain.”
He asserted that the legislature and executive must work together to deliver on promises to Nigerians, noting that Nigerians expected higher and better performances in terms of service.
“As legislators we are prepared to continue to support the administration of President Buhari either through the fight against corruption or in the confirmation of political appointees. Nigerians will change the change if we fail to perform,” Saraki said.
