Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said he never referred or mentioned
\nformer President Olusegun Obasanjo as responsible for Nigeria’s economic
\nand political woes.<\/p>\n
He said his opinion that mistakes have been made in the past was a
\nreference to all political office holders, civil society and even the
\nmedia.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Saraki was quoted to have said that all public office holders
\nin Nigeria since 1999, were guilty of the mistakes of the past that led
\nthe country to its present political and economic mess.<\/p>\n
Saraki stated this while responding to a question on the secrecy of the
\nNational Assembly\u2019s budget and corruption levelled against it by former
\nPresident Olusegun Obasanjo in a recent letter.<\/p>\n
However, his media office alleged in a statement that the Senate President
\nwas quoted out of context.<\/p>\n
He said:<\/p>\n
The Media Office of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki has described
\na report in which he was said to have replied President Olusegun Obasanjo
\nwhile speaking to journalists after the presentation of the newly
\nremodeled and refurbished Senate Press Centre as mere mischief,
\nmisrepresentation and undue sensationalism.<\/p>\n
Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity,
\nYusuph Olaniyonu, stated that during the presentation of the press centre,
\nhe was asked only two questions, both of which centered on the 2016
\nbudget. One was on how realistic the budget proposal under consideration
\nis, in view of dwindling oil price and the other on whether the details of
\nthe Senate Budget will be made open, particularly in view of the letter by
\nPresident Obasanjo.<\/p>\n
“The Senate President’s answer on the first question was that the success
\nof the 2016 will depend less on oil price but more on the non-oil and
\nindependent revenue and that that is why the Senate will lay emphasis on
\nthe scrutiny of these areas as well as ensure that leakages are blocked so
\nthat the budget can be realized without any hitch.<\/p>\n
“On the second question, he reiterated his earlier position that the
\nSenate budget will no longer be a one-line item. He said details of the
\nbudget of the National Assembly will be provided for all to see what goes
\nto what budget head. He urged all Nigerians to realize that mistakes have
\nbeen made by all stakeholders in the past and that we should all move
\nforward by ensuring those mistakes are not repeated.<\/p>\n
“In fact his position that mistakes have been made by all of us in the
\npast was a reference to all stakeholders like political office holders,
\nthe media, civil society, professional and business groups, among others.<\/p>\n
” Dr. Saraki will like to maintain his earlier position that he will only
\nwrite a formal letter to President Obasanjo to explain all the efforts the
\nEight Senate is making to address some of the issues the former President
\nraised in his letter to him. The Senate President will not use any public
\nevent or the media to give any direct or indirect response to the
\nlegitimate points raised by the elder statesman and father of the nation.
\n” The Senate President further urged the media to refrain from
\nsensationalism which leads to twisting and misrepresentation of the
\nposition of public officers and therefore further create unnecessary
\ntension in the polity. The urge to sell newspapers should not override the
\nneed for ethical standard and accuracy in presentation of news to be
\nmaintained. The media should equally be sensitive to other people’s
\nfeelings”, he stated.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said he never referred or mentioned former President Olusegun Obasanjo as responsible for Nigeria’s economic and political woes. He said his opinion that mistakes have been…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n