…As Saraki accuses Executive of frustrating budget passage

Fred Itua, Abuja

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, yesterday, revealed that his colleagues were opposed to the recent decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to approve $1 billion for the purchase of security equipments.

  Saraki noted that the President’s approval was without recourse to the National Assembly. He did not, however, clearly state if the Senate would overrule the decision of the President when it resumes from its Easter break on Tuesday.

Saraki spoke in Jos, Plateau State capital, during a retreat organised by the Senate Press Corps. The retreat has its theme, “Strengthening Executive-Legislature Relations.”

In a no-hold-back speech, which lasted for more than 30 minutes, Saraki said the National Assembly was under attack from people who were against the principles of separation of powers. He warned that if the National Assembly was not protected, Nigeria’s democracy would be in danger.

  Breaking his silence on the $1 billion security fund approved by the President, Saraki said: “There is no security architecture of this country that can work without a strong synergy between the executive and the legislature. When you see certain agencies, which by their actions and utterances frustrate the relationship between the two arms, you begin to wonder.”

“What do we need to do? Do the police need more funding or more powers? Do they need new legislations to strengthen them? These are the issues where the executive and the legislature must work together.” 

“Just few days ago, the issue of providing funding for the purchase of security equipments was in the news. In a good environment, such an issue needed to have been discussed with lawmakers. Already, some senators are angry. They said the executive did not consult them before such a decision was taken. These are the issues we are talking about.”

  Arguing that the friction between the two arms of government goes beyond party affiliations, the Senate President said: “Even during the last administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, when PDP was in charge of the executive and legislature, there were some frictions. It means that it is not about the party; it is not about any individual. It is about the system.” He accused officials of the executive arm of always blackmailing senators and members of the House of Representatives. He frowned at the recent release of the names of some senators who were tagged looters by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed. “In a situation where a particular arm of government stands up and calls people from another arm of government thieves, looters and other names, how can we work together? How? It is not possible. It is not realistic. If we collaborate, the country will be better for it,” he said.

  The Senate President, while speaking further on the poor relationship between the two arms, wondered how President Buhari could write the National Assembly to approve a N4.6 trillion capital market bond without first discussing the issue with the leadership of both chambers.

He said: “Imagine the Federal Government wants to raise a N4.6 trillion bond from the capital market. The leadership of the National Assembly first heard about it through a letter written by the President. This is what happens.”  “I needed to be here to speak on these issues. It is not just about today. Posterity will be there to judge us that what I am saying is true. If we do not change the way we behave, we will remain like this for many years to come.”

Saraki also accused the heads of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of frustrating the passage of the 2018 national budget.  “If you take the 2018 budget for example, even before they had bothered to find out where the cause of the delay is coming from, people were already attacking and blaming the legislature.

“When I led the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly, with the Speaker of the House of Representatives to see Mr. President, he came to the meeting being briefed as if the delay was that of the National Assembly. He was humble enough at the end of the discussion to render an apology,” he said