Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday, lambasted the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, saying the body had become an enabler of executive recklessness.
His criticism comes on the heels of the removal of Senator Ali Ndume as Senate Chief Whip due to his criticism of President Bola Tinubu.
Atiku, in a statement, expressed concern over the emerging pattern of the National Assembly compromising the health of democracy by prioritizing the interests of the executive over those of the people.
He described the situation as a dictatorship that worsens the plight of Nigerians.
The former Vice President lamented that the current administration has turned democracy into an anathema, with the National Assembly, especially the Senate, becoming a puppet in the President’s hands.
He cited instances where senators were punished for fulfilling their duty to hold the executive accountable, such as Senator Abdul Ningi’s suspension for exposing budget padding in the 2024 Appropriation Bill.
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Atiku also referenced Senator Ali Ndume’s call for the President to address the country’s biting hunger and poverty, only to be removed as Senate Chief Whip.
He condemned the National Assembly’s actions as unfair and urged a reversal of this trend to ensure democracy serves the people’s interests.
Atiku said, “We are beginning to see a pattern in which the National Assembly has become an enabler of executive recklessness, and the concerns of the people stand in the nadir of the priority list of the legislature.
“This emerging reality must stop. The health of our democracy is being compromised by this unholy alliance between the executive and the legislature and portends a dictatorship that will worsen the lot of the people.”
The ex-Vice President said it was regrettable that “the democracy in Nigeria under the current administration of President Bola Tinubu has become an anathema to that general principle of democracy as providing primary protection for the people against executive excesses.”
“This ugly tendency is being manifested by the steady posturing of our National Assembly, especially the Senate, of taking a reverse course in its core function and becoming a puppet in the hands of the President.
“Today, the people of Nigeria are victims of an ambiguous budget framework upon which appropriations for the current fiscal year are hinged in the face of a multiplicity of appropriations.
“Only yesterday, Senator Ali Ndume called for the President to wake up to his responsibilities and provide succour to address the biting hunger and poverty in the country.
“Ironically, the response of the @NGRSenate to his patriotic warning is to relieve him of his principal office as the Chief Whip of the Senate,” he said.
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