28th January, 2016
Nigeria’s senate president, Bukola Saraki, has said the 8th Senate is already taking steps to address the concerns of accountability and transparency in the upper chamber.
Saraki was reacting to the accusations of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, that the senate is insensitive and corrupt.
Obasanjo had criticized the national assembly for not opening its N115bn ($583.8m) budget to public scrutiny, accusing the lawmakers of sustaining a “culture of impunity, opaqueness and corruption”.
In a letter leaked to the media on Tuesday, Obasanjo described the national assembly’s budget of N4.7bn ($23.9 million) to purchase exotic cars for individual lawmakers as “insensitive” because it does not reflect the current economic realities.
READ: National assembly members are insensitive, corrupt, says Obasanjo
But Saraki has since responded to the former head of state, promising to outline what the senate is doing to address his concerns. “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,” Saraki said.
Read his full response below:
Yesterday, I acknowledged that I received 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 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. I have canvassed that we must lay bare the budget of the Senate, nay 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 so that we can ensure the budget leads to the realization of the policy objectives of the Buhari administration.
Again, let me reiterate my position in the speech I made this morning on the need for us to work towards blocking all areas of revenue leakages while also strengthening the anti-corruption agencies so that the little resources that are now available will serve the interest of the overwhelming majority.
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.
In conclusion, 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 advise where necessary.