Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Monday declared that former Lagos state governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and his cohorts will fail again like they did in June, 2015; if they attempt to foist Senator Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as their anointed leadership on the Ninth National Assembly due for inauguration next June 8, 2019. Saraki said the grand plan by Tinubu and his co-travelers to torpedo the wishes of federal legislators-elect in the election of presiding officers of the 9th legislature will fail as was the case at the inauguration of the 8th Assembly on June 9, 2015.
“Tinubu should know that if there was any mistake made on June 9, 2015, it was the miscalculation by himself and his small cabal in the All Progressive Congress (APC) who felt they could decide for the Senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect. When they failed after their grand-standing that they could always got whatever they desired, they resorted to undermining the institution of the legislature and waging a campaign of calumny against the law making body,” noted Saraki, in a terse 14-point statement by his Media Adviser, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in reaction to Tinubu’s allegation that the National Assembly leadership padded the budget in the last four years.
“It is obvious that if they repeat that arrogance during the inauguration of the Ninth National Assembly, they will fail again because Nigeria is greater than them. The institution of the legislature is bigger than the over-bloated egos of these power mongers and dirty schemers.” Saraki emphasized that: “it is obvious Tinubu’s arbitrary and tactless interference in the process for the emergence of the leadership of the Ninth Assembly is already falling through. The frustration from this experience might have been responsible for these needless and baseless outbursts.”
He however, advised Tinubu for the sake of the stability of the National Assembly to allow the members to elect their leadership in consultations with the party leadership. “He should stop treating the legislators like hapless pupils receiving orders from a cane-wielding headmaster. A situation where he, Tinubu, is dictating to elected legislators and ordering them to either comply with his directives or get out of the party will not augur well for the legislature in the next dispensation.
“History should have thought him that only a leadership that truly enjoys the support of members can help the President and his administration to achieve their objectives. It is a good development that the candidates for the various positions are already reaching out to their colleagues and forging alliances. We can see that after he realized that he has misfired, he is trying to retrace his step and in his usual devious manner, he is looking for scapegoats. We advise him to leave Saraki out of his manipulations and “jockeying and maneuvering for influence and power,” as he termed it.
The Senate president also panned down allegations of budget padding, delay and distortion leveled against him and House Speaker Yakubu Dogara, by Tinubu, saying they were false and fallacious. Tinubu had in a statement clarifying his interest in the national assembly leadership, stressed that the APC did not want a repeat of what happened in the 8th legislature, when its un-anointed leadership hijacked the process. He said in the statement: “Just look at how outgoing Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara and their like, hijacked the budget process these past four years. National budgets were delayed and distorted as these actors repeatedly sought to pad budgets with pet projects that would profit them. Even worse, they cut funds intended to prosper projects that would have benefitted the average person.”
Saraki dismissed Tinubu’s claim that the legislative leadership reduced funds for earmarked projects, while introducing new projects “to halt progress of government” as careless, irresponsible and callous. The Senate President described as unfortunate, that a man like Tinubu who had been in the Senate (though for 22 months and under a military regime) should not have a better understanding of how the legislature works. He urged the former senator Tinubu to look at the time of passage of budgets from 2010 and compare to the last three years, noting that budgets had mostly been passed between March and May. Saraki said that the attacks by Tinubu on his person and the leadership of the National Assembly has become quarterly, describing the recent allegations as “careless, irresponsible and callous.
“We therefore demand that he should withdraw it,” he said.
He stated that the passage of budgets is definitely not the exclusive responsibility of the leadership of the Senate as most of the work is done by the various committees. “These committees are headed by Senators representing different parties. It is the level of co-operation between the committees and the MDAs in the timely defence of the budget proposals and the ability of the two chambers of the National Assembly to reconcile their figures that usually determine how soon the budget is passed. To put the blame of budget delay on the Senate President or Speaker can only be mischief, or at best, playing to the gallery.”
