Politics Today

The House of Representatives on Thursday reacted formally to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter in which he accused members of the National Assembly of corruption and profligacy.

The letter was addressed to both the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.

The House said having read the letter, it was convinced that Obasanjo might be referring to the 4th and 5th Assembly when he (Obasanjo) was in charge of the nation’s affairs as the President.

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, who gave the position of the House, claimed that the current 8th Assembly had grown beyond the period Obasanjo had in mind while writing his letter.

He argued that the current House had embraced the change mantra of the present administration and did not see how Obasanjo’s allegations could be related with the members.

Namdas added, “As far as we are concerned, his letter is meant for the 4th and 5th Assembly, the same time he was the President.

“We, in the 8th Assembly, are upright; we are working for the good of the nation.

“He is advising us to be upright and we are telling him that we are already doing what he is advising us to do.”

When asked whether he meant that Obasanjo encouraged corruption in the National Assembly while he was the President between 1999 and 2007, Namdas replied, “I didn’t say so, but his letter is for the Assembly during which he was the President.”

One of the issues raised by Obasanjo was the move by the Senate and the House to buy 469 ‘utility’ vehicles this year. He had observed that a few pool cars would have been enough instead of buying a luxury car for each lawmaker.

But, the House Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, disagreed with the former President and explained why the cars were necessary.

He said, “If he (Obasanjo) believes we should not carry out oversight functions or probably we should rely on ministries and agencies of government even when travelling outside the states to carry out these responsibilities, he is at will to say whatever he wants to say.”

Meanwhile, the House adjourned its plenary sessions by two weeks on Thursday to allow the standing committees to pay full attention to the 2016 budget of N6.07tn.

Ministries, Departments and Agencies will appear before various House committees to defend their 2016 proposals.

Meanwhile, Saraki, on Thursday, told Obasanjo that members of the National Assembly were not insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.

Saraki said this in a statement with which he reacted to a letter by Obasanjo, who accused the federal lawmakers of profligacy despite the harsh economic challenges confronting the nation.

He assured Obasanjo that the National Assembly members were committed to good governance, transparency, accountability, due process and responsiveness to the economic reality of Nigeria.

The Senate President restated the commitment of the current leadership of the National Assembly to make its accounts transparent to all Nigerians.

The statement partly read, “I will want to assure (former) President Obasanjo that the leadership and membership of the 8th Senate is 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 during my closing address at the plenary after our debate on the 2016 Budget, the Senate must lead by example in terms of our own funding, budgets and accountability showing, beyond doubt, value for money…”

Saraki added, “As a former President and a father of the nation that we all hold in high esteem, I intend to reply the letter and outline the actions the Senate is taking to address his concerns.

“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.”

Punch