Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has attributed the 40 per cent constituency funding of the eight senate by the refusal of former President Muhammadu Buhari to adequately fund constituency projects.
Incumbent President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who was minority leader in the 8th senate, in a banter with Senator Ali Ndume, said he was not part of the senate that could only fund the constituency projects to barely 40 percent.
However, reacting to the improper funding of the 8th senate constituency projects, Yusuph Olaniyonu, media aide to Saraki, attributed the poor funding of the constituency projects to Buhari’s refusal to fund constituency projects of the eighth national assembly because its members scrutinised his loan request.
Under the leadership of Saraki, the senate rejected a loan request by Buhari because it was not accompanied by explanations for projects he intended to fund at the time.
In a statement, yesterday, Olaniyonu said Akpabio ought to know about the issue because he was the minority leader for about three years.
According to Olaniyonu, “Our initial response was to ignore the report because Dr. Saraki believes there are more serious existential issues confronting our country and her people like hunger and extreme hardship, which should keep the leaders disturbed, busier, and more focused than throwing banter.
“However, he has also been persuaded by the need to explain the project funding process in the budget such that members of the public will not be misguided about the roles of the various institutions and individuals in the process.
“For clarification, the Saraki Media Office will want members of the public to note that then President Muhammadu Buhari deliberately refused to approve funds for the constituency projects of members of the eighth National Assembly obviously to punish the members for questioning some of the loan requests presented by the executive before the legislature.
“Instead of viewing the legislature’s scrutiny of the loan’s request and the demand for elaborate explanations that would help in making informed decisions as democratic necessities, the Buhari government’s reaction was to be hostile and to seek to stifle the performance of the legislature.
“The refusal to fund constituency projects of members of the legislature was used as one of the retaliatory instruments. That was the experience of the 8th National Assembly.
“Mr. Akpabio, as Senate minority leader for over three years in the four-year tenure of the 8th Senate, ought to know better and even his experience as Senate President in the last eight months also ought to have made him more informed.”
He therefore, said the eighth senate could not be held responsible for failure to fund constituency projects.
