‘The world is watching you’ — Buhari tells booing lawmakers

In a move to calm aggrieved members of the national assembly who booed him during his speech at the presentation of the 2019 budget, President Muhammadu Buhari said the whole world was watching.

The lawmakers interrupted the speech of the president, chanting “Lies! Propaganda!”

He was shouted down when he started talking about the strides of his administration. At first, Buhari tried to maintain his composure but the aggrieved lawmakers continued interjecting him.

At that point he said, “May I appeal to the honourable members that the world is watching us… we’re supposed to be above this.”

But rather than reason with the president, the angry lawmakers continued heckling him.

Pointing at him, a lawmakers s”outed ‘grass cutter” in reference to the scandal involving Babachir Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF).

Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives, had pleaded with lawmakers in the lower legislative chamber not to embarrass Buhari during the budget presentation.

A source had told TheCable learnt that aggrieved lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who did not get tickets to contest the 2019 polls planned to protest against the president.

But the source said during a closed-door session on Thursday, Dogara pleaded with the aggrieved lawmakers not to protest against Buhari.

Another source said after the plea, some of the aggrieved lawmakers submitted their placards to Kawu Sumaila, senior special assistant to the president on national assembly matters (house of representatives).

“They have started submitting their placards to Kawu,” the source said.

“They are aggrieved, you know most of them did not get their tickets and that is why they want to protest. That is the reason for the delay, the joint session was supposed to start at 12am.”