Deputy spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Mr. Philip Agbese, yesterday picked holes in the recent comment by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, that members of the National Assembly fix their salaries.
Agbese said contrary to a statement Obasanjo’s spurous allegation, the 10th House of Reps was different from his era. He was reacting to Obasanjo’s comment which claimed that it was immoral for the House to determine for itself salaries and allowances.
Obasanjo had said: “You are not supposed to fix your salaries or allowances; it is supposed to be done by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Responsibility Commission. “With all due respect, you know it’s not right; it is not right for me to be the one to determine what I pay myself; it is immoral, and you are doing it; the Senate is doing it.”
Agbese, however, said the former President was always right and wrong because the 10th House of Reps remained totally different from his era’s.
He said Obasanjo was using the past to pass judgment on the present, adding that this was totally wrong and unfounded.
According to him, as a parliament, ‘’we have striven to maintain the highest level of accountability and transparency in all that we do under Speaker Tajudeen Abass.
“I am bold to say that the very respected former President is right and wrong because of the things that transpired between him and the National Assembly during his time as president.
“Stories abound that he was helpless. This is no longer the case, as quite a lot has been done by the current crop of representatives to deliver to the poor masses.”
He said that no one could be more sanctimonious about the welfare of the people than the current speaker of the House of Representatives.
He said, under Abbas leadership, “we mean what we say and everything that we do as a parliament. The era of narrow interest is over. We are here for our people and their collective interests.’’
On the N100 million and N200 million allegedly given to members of the National Assembly, Agbese said no such thing happened under the current administration, led by President Bola Tinubu.
He said Tinubu’s tenure remained totally different from all past presidents in so many ways, adding that the president was getting their support out of sheer diplomacy and consultation.
According to him, Tinubu is a product of partnership and collaboration. “We know what Tinubu wants for Nigeria, and supporting the President to deliver on the Renewed Hope Agenda is the best for the country,’’ he said.
The lawmaker said the speaker had been largely accountable to the people and remained a torchbearer of the parliament.
He said: “Abbas has earned the respect of members not just because he is a kind and God-fearing man, but because he strives daily for excellence.
He described Abbas as an apostle of due process who has exhibited leadership with much accountability and probity at a very religious level.
“Obasanjo tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to bribe members of the National Assembly in his time to support positions that were not in line with the constitution.
“That informed his decision to amend the constitution through the backdoor, which was rejected by the majority,’’ he recalled.
This alone, according to him, shows that apart from the few bad eggs the former President had in the parliament as collaborators, the majority were still men and women of good conscience who could not sell their country for a pot of porridge.
He said far from Obasanjo’s era, President Tinubu was leading by example by not interfering with emergency changes to the leadership, either in the Senate or House of Representatives, adding that this was why some former leaders were envious of their relationship. “They are not happy that Abbas is not like Ghali Na’Abba, and the President is making progress to salvage the situation,’’ he noted.
Agbese added that the Senate President, Goodwill Akpabio, was not like Sen Adolphus Wabara and Sen Evans Enwerem, the two Senate Presidents who were later impeached during the Obasanjo era.(Vanguard)
