Olusegun Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s comments on the National Assembly over the budget padding saga has irked some lawmakers leading to diverse responses from them with some making reference to the botched third term agenda of the former president.
Obasanjo drew the first blood in an interaction with State House Correspondents on the revelations in the House after meeting privately with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday.
Obasanjo said the lawmakers had vindicated his earlier comments in 2012 that the National Assembly was populated by rogues and armed robbers advising President Buhari to be wary of the lawmakers.
“Well, if you said that I have said it in the past and if they are people who didn’t believe what I said in the past, then you can now say that what has come out confirms what I said in the past, then you can say what I said in the past is what I will say now,” he said.
“It’s not a question of investigation, we should get men and women of integrity into the place and the President should be very vigilant. Whatever should not pass should not pass.”
Reacting to this, Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, washed Obasanjo saying: “if anyone should condemn others on corruption, it must not be Obasanjo because he lacks moral authority to speak on corruption.”
Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, in his reaction called on the former President to act as an elder statesman.
“The way former President Obasanjo is going about the whole thing is not good. He is an elder statesman and a father to all of us and with this position in the society, he should invite the leadership of the National Assembly, raise issues with them and advise where necessary.
“He should be able to manage the situation by advising both the Executive and the Legislature. He is a father to all, he should not blow up issues at the moment. We all need one another for the development and growth of this country.”
For Hon Joan Onyemaechi Mrakpor, representing Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State in the House of Representatives, if the lawmakers were thieves as alleged by the former President, they would have collected his gratifications for his third term bid.
“He is a very elder statesman. In my place, you can’t correct an elder and my bible says if an elder tells you what you don’t like, you won’t stay outside to correct him.
“I want to believe that he didn’t say that. If members of the National Assembly were rogues, they would have amended the constitution for his third term. They would have taken the benefit of what would have come to them for amending the constitution for our father to remain in office for 12 years.”
Hon Ehiozuwa J. Agbonayinma, representing Egor/Ikpoba Federal Constituency of Edo State, added that the Former president should account for the political killings during his administration and the $16 billion power project fund.
“I will want him to face the real issue which is that under his watch, Chief Bola Ige and Chief Harry Marshal were killed.”
“It was under his watch that money meant for us to have constant power supply was wasted and Nigerians were shortchanged. Nigerians can attest those that are criminals, rogues and thieves and those that are not.
“The former President had all the ample opportunity to make Nigeria among the leading nation but unfortunately he didn’t use the time that God has given to him to ask for forgiveness that during his time thousands of Nigerians were killed including the death of elder statesmen, Bola Ige and Harry Marshal to unearth those that were involved in their murder.” THE WILL
