Former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu yesterday hailed Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi's courage in exposing the overhead expenditure of the National Assembly. He also criticised the lawmakers for "neglecting their constitutional responsibility".
(http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/thumbnail.php?file=Asiwaju__Pix_479865953.jpg&size=article_medium)
It was at a seminar organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly for local government officials and politicians at the LTV Multipurpose Hall, Agidingbi, Ikeja.
Tinubu gave the keynote address.
He urged participants including members of the House of Assembly and State Executive Council; local government functionaries as well as party members to provide good leadership for the people.
He said: "Don't be part of the scheming and greedy members of the National Assembly questioning the arithmetic of fact. I begin to wonder, how less than 0.1 per cent of the population elected by the people of this country should be too greedy".
Tinubu said there was no justification for spending 25 per cent of its budget on the lawmakers. He said the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was putting finishing touches to its strategies to upset the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in next year's presidential elections.
He stressed the need for collaborative efforts among members while challenging the grassroots' leaders to take the crusade to their localities so as to make the dream a reality.
"This is a critical period that we need to get our party in shape and wrest power from the usurpers. We must continually remind our neighbours that they must go all out and register if we must free ourselves from the shackles of poverty, from underdevelopment and from the poverty development party".
In his presentation, constitutional Lawyer Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) accused the National Assembly of violating the Constitution, saying its members have jettisoned constitutional provisions for political gains.
According to Sagay, the lawmakers erred for failing to rectify and list local government councils created by the House of Assembly.
He said Section 7 of the Constitution compels the states to create local governments.
The political decision by the National Assembly not to certify the process spurred the protracted litigation between the Federal and Lagos State governments during the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, he said.
Ex-governor hails Sanusi as Sagay hits lawmakers over Lagos councils (http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/21077.html)