Osinbajo: No frosty relationship between executive and legislature

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the relationship between the national assembly and the presidency is cordial.

Osinbajo said this while speaking at the 2017/2018 Barewa Old Boys Association annual lecture in Sokoto on Saturday.

He said unlike in the past, the executive has not tried to step into the affairs of the two chambers of the national assembly.

“There had never been any attempt under the present administration to stamp the legislature as was experienced in the past administration,” he said.

“Moreover, Nigeria had five senate presidents between 1999 and 2007, which is very easy to forget. All of this and many more took place in very recent history.

“So, you will agree with me that a lot had changed at least with regard to political understanding.”

Osinbajo spoke 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari said he was disappointed in the national assembly for delaying the 2018 budget.

The vice-president added that the federal government had achieved a lot in all sectors of human development and democratic process.

“There is a lot of impunity that have been defined to public office in Nigeria in the past, especially grand corruption which had been sanctioned under the present administration,” he said.

“I said grand corruption because our society had a problem of extended corruption affecting all government institutions and today has never been the case.

“Nigeria had in the past faced so much challenges of corruption in public offices with a lot of government money being stolen by individuals which the present administration blocked such instances.”

Osinbajo added that under leadership of Buhari, Nigeria had recorded success in the areas of security, agriculture, judiciary, legislature, among others.

“There is not a single state in Nigeria that is not undergoing a measure of FG project under the ministry of power, works and housing,” he said.

“More so, clearly we have not done all we want to see, but if we are to ask our brothers and sisters from the north-east of what Boko-Haram seize 14 local government in their state, you will agree with me that they have seen some change.

“If we are to ask the farmers enjoying the credit and support by the FG programmes and getting a more suitable supply of fertilizer, perhaps they may say that they have seen some change.

“The over 500,000 graduates which have been employed under N-power programme, which is direct government employment, have been training in various fields to be useful for themselves. Also traders who are getting direct credit from the government to support their small scale businesses, they may say that we have seen some change.”