Politics

We’ll never cover up Corruption- Saraki

Published

8 years ago

March 14, 2016

Senate-President-Bukola-Saraki

Senate President, Bukola Saraki says the present senate under his leadership will never cover corruption except if the information didn’t come to them. Saraki said this while speaking with a team of editors of the London based “The Economist” newspaper at the weekend.

“Under my watch, the Senate will never cover corruption except if the information didn’t come to us”, he said.

According to a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Mohammed Isa, Saraki said the Senate is ever ready to partner with President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the success of the anti-corruption war. The Senate, he said had already demonstrated such commitment through its interventions on many alleged corrupt transactions such as its swift investigation and adoption of a report on the management of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) that saved the nation about N7billion and the exposure of the inconsistencies in the 2016 budget.

The step, he said was a departure from the past where such reports were either watered-down or not presented for debate and adoption. He cited the report he presented to the last Senate on the over N1trillion fuel subsidy scam that never saw the light of the day.

In furtherance to the commitment, the Senate President said Nigerians would in the next few weeks be availed with the details of the National Assembly budget which will be a departure from the tradition of having one line item budget.

“For the first time we promised Nigerians to give out our budget breakdown. The committee will make its report available by next week. We are resolved to break the tradition of one line item,” he said.

Saraki said though party differences exist between the senators, citing example of the leadership tussle, he, however said, national interest and the desire of each senator to fulfil the promises made to Nigerians have become the guiding principle of the senate in their team work.

On the economy, he said the Senate has embarked on series of legislative interventions to create conducive environment for the private sector, as he said, “it is only when the private sector thrives that the issue of unemployment will be addressed and the nation’s GDP will increase.”

“Few days ago, we received a report on the laws that need to be amended in order of priority importance to ease doing business and overall private sector participation in the stimulation of Nigeria’s economy. We will soon commence the implementation of the recommendations in the report in addition to pushing for the amendment of the Procurement Act to stimulate and protect our local industries,” he assured.

He blamed lack of firmness and consistency in policy implementation by the past administrations as the main obstacle for the growth of the private sector.

“If people have confidence that these policies have come to stay, nothing will stop them from coming to invest in the country,” he stressed.

He allayed the fears that the low prices of oil will have negative impact on the implementation of the 2016 budget, saying that, “what we need to do is to block leakages and show more transparency.”

“If we can block leakages, stop the wastages and institute a culture of transparency in governance, the revenue in-flow will not be substantially affected. Without these, even if oil is sold at more than a $100 per barrel, we will continue to witness a decline in revenue in-flow as we witnessed in the past,” Saraki said.

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The British Left Two Devils Behind When They Left Nigeria -Bode George

Published

17 hours ago

July 26, 2024

lagoslately

“I have said it before, there are two devils left behind when the British left Nigeria. The first was tribalism. They planted it as a devil and the second is Religious bigotry. What has these issues got to do with managing people.

“Nobody selected himself that I want to be Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa man. No. You just popped out and whether you are a Muslim or Christian is irrelevant.

“In all religions that I know, you are told to love your Neighbor as yourself. What you will not accept, don’t do it to another neighbor because if you pack up and die, that’s the end. Let us have an impact of governance.” -Chief Bode George On AriseTV News

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Peter Obi Writes Onanuga, Demands Apology, N5bn within 72 Hours

Published

3 days ago

July 23, 2024

lagoslately

The Presidential Candidate of our Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi has demanded from the Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy to the President, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the retraction of his wild allegation, linking him as behind the planned mass protest being planned for August.

Obi, writing through his counsel, Chief Alex Ejesieme, SAN of the MADIBA Chambers, said that the allegation which was widely published in social and mainstream media and read by many within and outside the country maligned his hard-earned reputation as a man who indulges in violence when all his antecedents are vivid that he abhors violence even in the face of extreme provocation.

“It’s our client’s conviction that the publication was a calculated plot to demean, ridicule, humiliate and embarrass him by the estimation of every right thinking member of the society”

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LG Autonomy: Supreme Court Judgment A Distraction -Governor Makinde

Published

2 weeks ago

July 15, 2024

lagoslately

“They said there is a judgment of the Supreme Court on local government autonomy. I think it is just a distraction. We must face the real issue that we have.

“The issue that we have is that we are not producing enough. We are not productive. Maybe it may be part of the problem, we want to have value for what is being shared but our problem is productivity.

“How much are those LGAs generating within their domains? Can they survive without handouts from Abuja? Handouts from Abuja, is that the way to go? Is it sustainable?” -Governor Seyi Makinde, Oyo At Audience With NUJ