Dogara hits back at Tinubu over budget padding comment

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara,  has  fired back at the  National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over his   claim  that the National Assembly has been padding the national budgets since 2015.

Tinubu in a statement  on Sunday accused Senate President Bukola Saraki and  Dogara of  padding the  budgets  since they came to power to take care of their self-interest.

The former Lagos State governor said, “Even worse, they cut funds intended to prosper projects that would have benefited the average person.”

But  Dogara in a statement  on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan,  said Tinubu  was  ignorant of the powers of the National Assembly on the Appropriation Bill and budgetary process.

He  said he did not expect  the APC chief  to “dwell on brazen mendacity, much less murder facts and decorum in his rabid bid to justify his patently clear fascist agenda of controlling the  levers of power in Nigeria”.

He added, “Tinubu’s nocturnal agenda has no parallel in the history of any democracy, and it is more loathsome when he throws caution to the winds and maligns government officials who are doing a yeoman’s job of stabilising the  Muhammadu Buhari government, in spite of political differences.

“It is on record that the  Speaker has done more to stabilise this government more than Asiwaju Tinubu and his ilk, whose stock in trade is scheming, manipulation and subversion, especially when they feel they cannot be caught.

“When the history of the Buhari administration is written by those who know the truth of what really transpired in the last four years, Asiwaju’s pretentious loyalty to Buhari will then be exposed.”

The Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker, who represents Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa constituency, Bauchi State, in  the lower chamber of the National Assembly, accused  Tinubu of backing APC  lawmakers  for leadership positions in  the 9th National Assembly  to feather his own nest.

He said the lawmakers    the APC  had adopted  for  leadership positions  in the national Assembly had been involved in the budget process.

He insisted the aspirants to the Senate presidency and  House speakership   being backed by Tinubu   had also taken  part in the budget process “that he made the chief basis of his crude attack”.

Dogara said, “This proves beyond doubt the hypocrisy of Asiwaju’s stated reasons for supporting his candidates. He should find better reasons other than the lies being peddled about the budget and obstructing government business.  Asiwaju shouldn’t take better informed Nigerians for fools.”

The Speaker added, “It is false to state that legislative intervention in the budget process is to benefit the legislators and not their constituencies. We challenge Asiwaju Tinubu to prove otherwise. He should also show in what way the 8th Assembly acted differently from other Assemblies of the past to warrant the kind of language used.”

Dogara blamed the executive for the delay in passing the budgets and dissociated himself from the alleged padding of the budgets.

He said, “What Nigerians don’t know is that the executive, through the various ministries, continues to propose additional projects to be included in the 2018 budget even as of April and May 2018, which further delayed the passage of the 2018 budget. These were communicated officially and if anyone is in doubt, we will exhibit the letters with the dates they were written and received.”

He added, “For the records, in the last four years, there was no urgency or plan by the executive to achieve a January-to-December budget cycle.

“It is important to emphasise that the National Assembly is not a rubber-stamp parliament and reserves the right, working cooperatively with the executive, to question the projects unilaterally inserted by the executive branch without the input of the parliament. The legislature cannot be accused of padding a budget it has an unquestionable constitutional power to review.

“The budget is a law and the executive does not make laws. Therefore, it’s only the ignorant and those who hold dubious academic certificates that say the maker of a document has padded the document that only he can constitutionally make.”

(PUNCH)