Obasanjo blasts senators
From: FRANCIS AWOWOLE-BROWNE and JAMES OJO, Abuja
Thursday, August 05, 2010


Obasanjo
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday accused the National Assembly of being a burden to the nation’s lean purse.
According to him, the amount being spent in maintaining the federal lawmakers is draining the nation’s resources and should be checked immediately.
Indeed, the former president said it was difficult to understand how much precisely a senator takes home yearly in the name of constituency projects. He warned that something must be done about this if the fledging democracy is to be sustained.

The chairman of Board of Trustees of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spoke during a one-day retreat organised for the Niger State senior civil servants by the state government.
At the retreat themed: Strategising to Re-invigorate Niger State for the Achievement of Vision 3:2020, Chief Obasanjo noted that Nigeria could not afford to have a National Assembly that is corrupt and consuming a disproportional part of the nation’s resources.

“We should look closely at the legislature so that they can be more open and transparent in the way they do their work. Nobody knows in detail how much it costs us to maintain a senator. I believe it is more than N250 million. Compare what it cost in 1999 and 2000, it cost about $1.7 million compared to a quarter of a million in America,  They came up and say something is constituency project, what is this constituency project? They insert it in the budget, they would find the contractor and the contractor would work for them, that is constituency project? They then accuse some people of corruption, who is not corrupt?

“Now let us talk truly and seriously to ourselves; we can’t continue to have a National Assembly that is consuming a disproportional part of our resources and then expect that we would be able to make progress. They pass budget that can’t be implemented, because it has to be beefed up to satisfy their whims and caprices. Even what the ministries did not ask for they put it,” Obasanjo said.

Fielding questions from the participants who included the state executive council members, state assembly members and other top government officials on the difference between military and democratic governance, Obasanjo pointed out that democracy as practised in Nigeria was costly and cumbersome. He said for Nigeria to progress, leaders must discharge their duties with every sense of responsibility without tribal or religious sentiments.

The State governor, Muazu Babagida Aliyu, in his own comment commended the former president for his style of leadership during his eight years rule, saying he did his best to deliver the dividend of democracy and treated every Nigerian based on merit

Like many nairalanders, i am very disturbed when i read news item like this.

Its only in nigeria,a thief will be roaming d streets free and accusing others of stealing. . .sick country

Obasanjo is above the law in Nigeria so he has the right to say anything or do anything!!!!!hahahahha too bad.

char coal calling kettle black. obj's second name is corruption.
his regime made nigeria a very corrupt country.
his 2007 selection(election) was the worst in the history of man.
he slept with his own daughter inlaw.
he killed two villages - one in bayelsa and one in benue.

He has some nerve. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. He probably stole more than the senators will ever do combined. Foolish man.

Shut up OBJ. . . . . .

have state government pay them 300k each instead!!

Anyhow you look at it, these senators need to be told the truth. Next should be the solution.

A house divided against itself cannot stand.The time of corrupt and retarded nigerian politcians is up,what is missing at this moment is the right person that will make the right moves to bring to them book and banish them into eternal dungeon where they belong.

Nigerians should wake up from the deep slumber and take their places as humans in animal kingdom.

Foolish people, instead of staying on the points he raised you are here casting aspertions to his person. Were you not here when he ruled and you kept mute like donkeys, only to call him names now he is saying the obvious truth. By the time these senators are done looting us, you guys will become annoyed in the next 10 years.

yea,
[img]http://s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=ffffff/txt=ffffff/border=ffffff/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]

I will love to pour hot burning oil down that man's throat. What was he doing about it when he was in power for 8 years?

@marcus1234,
am very sorry , you are becoming annoying with your monosyllabic replies.

invisible!:

Foolish people, instead of staying on the points he raised you are here casting aspertions to his person. Were you not here when he ruled and you kept mute like donkeys, only to call him names now he is saying the obvious truth. By the time these senators are done looting us, you guys will become annoyed in the next 10 years.

Well, thats just how Ibos are for you. Crabs! Always averse to the truth!

bk.babe97y:

Well, thats just how Ibos are for you. Crabs! Always averse to the truth!

“Por qué no te callas!”. -King Juan Carlos

EzeUche22:

“Por qué no te callas!”. -King Juan Carlos

And this means what in ibo? you gonna eat me for dinner?

but that is not ibo language

bk.babe97y:

And this means what in ibo? you gonna eat me for dinner?

It is Espanol you fraud. It means "Why don't you shut up?" Something the King of Spain said to Hugu Chavez of Spain. Mehn you suck at languages.

Have the state govt pay them instead of federal with governors deciding how much they will be paid (less than 500k/month). That




Yo BK you were right about Montreal's filles they are Chaude,  They speak English though more than I expected though. I prefer the aggressive sounding French language coming from a chaud filles any day.

As much as i dislike Obj, but he is speaking the truth here, I think what some one has said is very correct, state govs should pay its federal representatives and they should be placed on a salary scale in their respective civil service, then they would be more interested in workers agitation and when they feel that they need an increase it would translate to an increase in govt workers pay.

EzeUche22:

“Por qué no te callas!”. -King Juan Carlos

luka1981:

but that is not ibo language

EzeUche22:

It is Espanol you fraud. It means "Why don't you shut up?" Something the King of Spain said to Hugu Chavez of Spain. Mehn you suck at languages.

You really are a fool,Ezeuche! A statement that reverberated all over the Hispanic world is what this Ibo monkey is trying to teach me! The sarcasm flew right over your head and waaay over the moon. So u thot, even for a nano second, that I thought Juan (which is one of my middle names by the way) was somehow an Ibo name. lol. hahahahahaha.lol King Juan Carlos of Abia in Biafra.lol. Dummy. . . . or dummies. . . . . .

   Wow!

9jaganja:



Yo BK you were right about Montreal's filles they are Chaude,  They speak English though more than I expected though. I prefer the aggressive sounding French language coming from a chaud filles any day.

Lol. Fxcuk around and one of them ho's will have u on lock! They love Americans! If u go to, say, Quebec City, Laval, Cornwall. . . motherfuxckas understand English but will only converse with you in French; theyll pretend all they like they dont speak english!

godfather

For now, let's excuse the messenger and ponder the message: the cost of maintaining the federal legislature is exorbitant! The Senate President is on a salary of N83m per month while the Deputy Senate President goes home with N50m every month.

Apart from scaling these outrageous bills down, why can't we have a single house instead of both the Senate and House of Reps?

Whether we believe what Obasanjo is saying here or not as regards these people allowances or salaries, the fact still remains that these so called Senators and the honorables are just looting the treasury everyday. Their salaries are outrageous and sincerely is uncalled for. What laws are they passing for God sake?

Let pray unto God (as many that believe in prayers) for deliverance, these people are ready to finish the country if possible. The situation is aggravating day in day out.