Senator Abdullahi Adamu yesterday called for a probe into the budgetary allocations to the National Assembly.
The Nasarawa State senator told reporters in Abuja that an audit had become necessary in view of Senate President Bukola Sarakiโs refusal to vacate his seat after defecting from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said Sarakiโs refusal to vacate his seat after defecting to a minority party could be because he had something to hide.
Adamu said: โI call for a forensic audit of the finances of the Parliament, which has been thoroughly messed up under the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki.
โWe did not know what Sarakiโs agenda is. As we go through this tenure of his, the more we see things being unearthed.
โFor him to refuse to move or leave the chair, there must be a reason for it.
โAs the chairman of the National Assembly, there is so much he is doing that we want to take a look at.
โIf he is clean, let him move away and accept that there should be a forensic audit of the National Assembly funds under his watch. Simple. Let him move so that we will see what he is sitting over.
โWe have seen his unbridled ambition. We have seen now that even though the odds are so much against him, he went to a party that is now losing ground and that is now a minority in the National Assembly.โ
On continued call by the leadership of the APC for Saraki to vacate his seat, Adamu said: โIt is pretty obvious that Sarakiโs influence has diminished completely.
โBecause he has lost the respect and confidence of majority of senators and well-meaning Nigerians, but heโs just latching on to that seat because of the privileges he enjoys.
โOrdinarily, Saraki needed not wait for any pressure to be mounted on him before he resigns from his position as Senate president.
โYou cannot command any respect or assert your authority as a leader when majority of those youโre supposed to lead have lost confidence in you and are opposed to your leadership.
โSo, if he is a self-respecting person, he does not even need anyone to ask that he should throw in the towel because he and his PDP have lost majority in the Senate.โ
He said Saraki was entitled to aspire for any office, including that of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Adamu, however, he said: โBut he should not try to destroy the system just because he wants to realise that ambition at all cost.โ
On who succeeds Saraki, if he exits his seat as President of the Senate, the lawmaker said: โYou do not cross a bridge before you get to it.
โAll the speculations about the purported rift is aimed at dividing us and distracting us from our determination to assert the interest of our party which enjoys the majority in the Senate.โ
He added that the lawmakers were united and that the party had the goodwill of Nigerians in view of progresses being made in different sectors of the economy.
While citing the partyโs victory in recent Senatorial by-elections in Katsina, Kogi and Bauchi states, the lawmaker said it was a sign of victory for the ruling APC in 2019.
โThey were the clearest pointers to the victories that will be recorded by President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling APC during the 2019 general election.
