Rep blames Obasanjo for negative image of national assembly

Zakari Mohammed, a lawmaker representing Baruten/Kaiama constituency, says former president Olusegun Obasanjo is to blame for the negative perception Nigerians have of federal lawmakers.

He said despite the general belief, members of the national assembly are not the highest paid political office holders in Nigeria.

“The public perception of the National Assembly is in sharp contrast to the reality on the ground as far as the lawmakers take-home and other allowances are concerned,” he told the NAN on Thursday in Gure, Baruten LGA of Kwara.

He said chief executives of federal agencies earn more salary than the national assembly members.

“I can tell you that a Director-General of a Federal agency is far and above better than a member of parliament in terms of what he takes home in terms of pegs of office,” he said.

“Whatever a legislature does is within the limit of his allowances and the salary that he takes. Whatever we do is within the income, we don’t award contracts, we don’t execute projects.

“So for me, I believe it is a mind set and it is going to take sometimes to get it off Nigerians heads, and I believe a regular interface with the public will change the psyche with time.”

“The National Assembly since 1999 has been living with image issue and of course I’m saying it without any fear of contradiction that it was caused by the then President (Olusegun) Obasanjo.

“To me, it is matter of psyche. Nigeria must get it out of them that legislature is being painted in the kind of light that it is not supposed to be, because I have been a member of the house and know exactly what they are doing”, he said.

The former house spokesperson cautioned Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai against casting aspersions on the national assembly.

He said the governor had taken the path of demonising the national assembly because of “individual inclination” and his grouse with some lawmakers representing his state.

Mohammed described the governor’s recent outburst over the national assembly budget as “hypocritical”.

On his governorship ambition in 2019, the former commissioner said that he had the right credentials for the position.

He, however, acknowledged that senate president, Bukola Saraki, would have the last say as to “who becomes what” in Kwara.

He described Saraki as the head of the existing political structure in the state.

“I want to say we have a leadership in Kwara, we have a pattern, we have a tradition, a practice through which leaders or through those who govern us emerge.

“So as a member of that political family, I believe that when the time comes, the appropriate measure would be applied and at the end of the day the verdict of the leader will definitely be what we will abide by,” he said.