Senate President Saraki blames NASS over “DasukiGate”

Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki has stated that the trial of Former National Security Adviser, [NSA] Sambo Dasuki over alleged mismanagement of $2.1 billion meant for arms is a partial indictment on the National Assembly.

Senate President who made this known in his remarks on motion tagged “Abandonment of projects‎: A menace to Development in Nigeria added standing committees in the National Assembly have declined from their responsibilities.

In his words, “This issue about Dasuki and the arms deal is a failure of the lack of oversight on the part of the National Assembly.

“If we had done our job, this would not have happened. I think we shied away from our responsibility. This issue is an indictment of the National Assembly.

“It is our duty to ensure that projects are not abandoned and that funds appropriated are well used. This 8th Assembly must play its role. 

“I want to thank you very much for your contributions that we have all added today but really, distinguished colleagues, I think we have shied away today from one of the main reasons because some of the  projects  are duly appropriated in the budget and embarked by various ministries and agencies and the motion whether we like it or not is a partial indictment on us in the National  Assembly and we must accept that because these projects that we are talking about  under Section 88 of the Constitution, 1(a) (b) it is our  responsibility to oversight these functions and these projects to ensure they are not abandoned and to ensure that the funds appropriated are properly addressed.

“I want us in this 8th senate to ensure that our committees carry out proper oversight and we the leadership we are going to ensure that we too find a way to make sure that committees do their work on oversight because truly that is the bottom line to this.

“Even the current investigation going on in the National Security Advisers Office also whether we like it or not in a way too again, the oversight function of the National Assembly is brought to question.

“We must play our roles in the area of oversight because if we don’t do it, at the end of the day this is what we will get.

“Please, distinguished senators of the 8th Senate, I want us to make a difference, that we should really carry out our oversight functions and we will put a system in place where we will be asking to the committees to give us the situation of their functions and the oversight that they are doing.

“So that this should be things of the past and we should move forward in providing a new way by which the National Assembly carries out its functions.”

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