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The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption
(PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said on Thursday he could not wait for
the current Senate, which he described as the worst since 1999, to go next
year.
He faulted the lawmakers’ insistence on the Inspector-General of Police,
Ibrahim Idris, personal appearance before them.
According to Sagay, such move smacks of personal vendetta against the IGP.
The PACAC chief said he was not a fan of the current Senate, which he
accused of abdicating its responsibilities by its refusal to pass the 2018
budget almost halfway into the year.
He said the Senate lacks the moral justification to declare the IGP as
unfit and incompetent to hold public office.
He said: “You know I have never been impressed by this Senate. It’s
probably the worst we have ever had since the return to civilian rule.
They are more concerned about exercising vain authority and power than in
actually doing anything substantive for the country.
“These are people – the whole Senate – who would adjourn sitting and go to
the Code of Conduct Tribunal in solidarity with their President. For
everyday they go, the work of legislation is suspended. And they owe a
duty to this country to make the laws for the order, peace and good
government of Nigeria.
“Each time they abandon their legislative duties, they’re in fact
committing a breach of their obligation, apart from the fact that doing
that sort of thing is infantile.
“As if that was not enough, the whole Senate packed themselves again to
visit Dino Melaye in the hospital. How rational is that? Why can’t they
send a delegation of two or three people who would report back? So, it’s
like a showoff of power and intimidation. I don’t think it’s really worthy
of them to behave like that.”
Asked if the IGP should not have responded to the Senate’s invitations,
Sagay said: “What I can deduce from the police response is that the IGP
has been honouring the Senate’s invitations. You know the frequency and
flippancy with which this Senate invites people. They can invite you today
and next week they invite you again. And these (those invited) are very
busy people.
“They (Senate) don’t care. They just want their vanity to be assuaged, for
people to know they have power and are big and that someone is disobeying
their authority.
“The IGP sent a very highly-placed representative. If the Senate really
wanted information, why didn’t they get it from IGP’s deputy rather than
insisting that the IGP himself must come? It suggests they’re turning the
whole thing into some form of personal vendetta.
“As I said, I’m not impressed with this Senate because as we are speaking
now, we are going to half of this year and they have refused to pass the
budget.
“Is that a Senate that should be calling anybody unfit for anything? Are
they doing their job? Budget passing is the most important job of the
legislature. They have not done it six months into the year.
“They were angry with the executive for not sacking Ibrahim Magu. How did
they respond? They refused to confirm any nominee, regardless of how
urgent and important the assignment is for this nation. Honestly we are
just praying for 2019 to come so this Senate can go.”