It Is Explosive, Saraki Brings Tinubu Down On His Knees, Reveals His Deepest Secret As He Replies NASS Budget Padding Allegations

It Is Explosive, Saraki Brings Tinubu Down On His Knees, Reveals His Deepest Secret As He Replies NASS Budget Padding Allegations

It Is Explosive, Saraki Brings Tinubu Down On His Knees, Reveals His Deepest Secret As He Replies NASS Budget Padding Allegations

The political scene in Nigeria got into another heated conversations with many the actors taking sides when the National Leader of the All Progressives (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, released a statement which alleged that the Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had engaged in national budget padding since they were elected into office in 2015.

saraki dogara tinubu

Saraki, who could not take the blow while lying down as given a swift reply to Tinubu’s allegations, challenging him to provide evidence of the budget padding allegations levelled against him since he assumed office.

Recall that in Tinubu’s statement, he was quoted saying: “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 benefited the average person. After four years of their antics, halting the progress of government, we should do all we can to prevent a repeat of their malign control of the National Assembly. He (Saraki) planted himself at the apex of legislative power. But his actions as Senate President showed a man devoid of compassion for the average Nigerian. All he cared for was power and position.”

According to a lengthy statement released yesterday by Saraki’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu, it slammed the allegation as “careless, irresponsible and callous,” while demanding that it should be proven or withdrawn by the APC chieftain.

The statement read in part, “In all the three budgets already passed by the National Assembly, we challenge Tinubu to make a specific reference to where  Saraki and the leadership of the National Assembly ‘sought to pad with pet projects’ as he alleged. Tinubu should be graceful enough to substantiate this allegation. We consider that allegation careless, irresponsible and callous. We, therefore, demand that he withdraw it.”

Saraki also alleged that Tinubu was coming after him for frustrating his 2015 ambition of being President Buhari’s running mate which would have produced a muslim-muslim ticket.

He was quoted saying: “Let us repeat again that we know that a Machiavellian politician like Tinubu will forever agonize over his erroneous belief that Dr. Saraki frustrated his ambition from becoming running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari through a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015. In his usual cavalier manner, he will stop at nothing to punish Saraki for that. We know that this attack is not about the interest of the nation or that of President Muhammadu Buhari. It is about his 2023 ambition and it is obvious in the statement as he struggled to explain this away.”

Olaniyonu described Tinubu’s statement as “another of his now well-expected quarterly vicious attack” on  Saraki.

He added, “Since we have taken it for granted that Tinubu’s attack on Saraki every three months will come as expected, we would just have ignored his statement but for the fact that it was filled with untruth, fallacies and misrepresentations. The statement was another effort to sell a concocted narrative about the 8th  National Assembly and its leadership.

“To further make the points here clear, we invite Tinubu to look at the records of the time of  the submission of  the budgets and their passage since 2010 and he will see that, with the exception of the 2013 budget, which was passed on December 20, 2012, all the budgets were passed between March and May of the same fiscal year.

“This should give him a better understanding of the fact that the date the Appropriation Bill is submitted to the parliament and the readiness of the MDAs to defend the proposals submitted as well as a  timely agreement on the figures by both chambers of the National Assembly are the main determining factors when the budget is eventually passed. So, Tinubu should see that the facts cannot support his spins and fake narrative.”

Saraki faulted Tinubu’s criticism of the leadership of the 8th National Assembly, insisting he and other leaders of the upper chamber were democratically elected.

The statement said, “It is because they are the choice of their colleagues that they have remained in office for the past 46 months despite  the plots hatched by anti-democratic, reactionary and fascist elements pretending to be ‘progressives.”

It added, “In fact, Tinubu should know that if there was any mistake made on June 9, 2015, it was the miscalculation by himself and his cabal in the APC who felt they could decide for the senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect. When they failed after their grandstanding that they could always get whatever they desired, they resorted to undermining the institution of the legislature and waging a campaign of calumny against the lawmaking body.”

Olaniyonu concluded the statement while admonishing Tinubu that they would be expecting his attack fort he next quarter while advising him to stay on facts.

Feel free to leave your comment on the story