Nuhu Ribadu & David Mark clash over National Assembly budget

Ex-Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC ), Nuhu Ribadu and   the outgoing Senate President, David Mark, on Monday disagreed on the need for National Assembly to cut its budget in line with the current economic realities in the country.

They spoke at a retreat organised for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Assembly members-elect in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

Ribadu had stirred up a hornet’s nest by calling on the lawmakers-elect to make their monthly salaries public and also cut their budgets. His call immediately attracted side talks by the participants which included   governors and the leadership of the PDP.

Obviously aware that his advice was not being welcomed by majority of the lawmakers-elect, the former anti-corruption czar,reminded them that they would be going to the National Assembly as the minority.

He said that Nigerians would not support the PDP if they (Nigerians) did not know what was earmarked for the National Assembly and how much a senator or a House of Representatives member earns.

But Mark, who showed his dissatisfaction with Ribadu’s charge,wondered why “every time, people will talk about National Assembly budget.”

Explaining that the budget of the Assembly had always been in public domain, the outgoing President of the Senate argued that Senators and House of Representatives members had always made sacrifices in line with the nation’s economic realities.

“Every time, people will talk about National Assembly budget; for Heaven’s sake, unless you would say you have never seen the national budget, it is a public document. The National Assembly budget is there with every other budget,” he stated in an angry tone.

Mark,who added that the National Assembly members “ were the first to make a cut in 2015 budget,” said that “ people should appreciate what we are doing and not to come and give an impression that our budget is bloated while every other person had made a cut.”

He stated further, “We are trying our best more than any ministry today. I can put my hand on my chest without fear of contradiction at all and say we made a lot of sacrifices in our budgeting system.

“Our budget is open; what we earn as National Assembly members is open. If anybody wants to receive his salary and donate it, he is free to do so. He does not need to consult us. I think we should not play politics with what is a very serious issue. Our budget is in the open and everybody can see it.” 

Punch