Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai has made it clear that he had no apologies to make to the National Assembly for demanding for transparency in the ways it expends public funds for its functions.
“I have no apologies because as citizens we have the right to demand for transparency for how resources are being spent.
“The issue is, what I did last Friday, was to ask the leadership of the national Assembly to fulfill the promise that they made themselves to publish the details of their budget and asking for that is my duty as a citizen. Every Nigerian is entitled to ask that question.
“It is in the National Assembly’s interest to actually publish it because there are rumours of bogus amounts of money that they are getting which I do not believe is true.
“I think that the best way to kill that rumour is to publish the details of their budget but some people took exception to that call for transparency..
Governor El-Rufai, who was fielding questions from news men today, Friday, after the Friday (Jum’at) prayer alongside President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, insisted that the legislature should publish its budgets.
“This one hundred billion or so budget of the National Assembly is money belonging to the people of Nigeria and every Nigerian has the right to ask and I am exercising that right as a citizen not even as a governor.
The Kaduna state governor would not agree that his call for transparency amounted to falling out with the National Assembly; adding that as a state governor, he did not have any direct relationship with the national assembly.
“They don’t legislate for me specifically. I don’t have any relationship that is negative or positive with the National Assembly. The National Assembly is the legislature of the federation and we have very good relations with the legislators.
“There are senators from my state and there are representatives and I meet regularly with those of them that are ready to meet with me. Here, beside me are Senators Abu Ibrahim and Marafa.
“I have no problem with the Speaker. He is my kid brother, he respects me and I respect him, I have no problem with the Senate President, we worked together in the past and I am confident that we will work together in the future in the interest of Nigeria.
“But demand for accountability is not a problem and should not be construed to be undermining or any such thing. It is only someone who has something to hide that will do things like that and I don’t believe that the National Assembly has things to hide.” [myad]
