Senate to Buhari: Call Sagay to order

The intermittent altercations between the Senate and the Chairman, Presidential

Action Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC), Professor. Itse  Sagay, resumed yesterday with the Upper Chamber asking President Muhammadu Buhari to call the PACAC boss to order.

The warning came as the lawmakers described the Professor of law as a “loose cannon under the influence of some substance and perhaps possessed “.

Sagay had at a public lecture on anti-corruption war, recently  organised  by the Society of International Law  in  Lagos, alleged that Senators in Nigeria earn monthly salaries higher than that of the elected President of the United States of America ( USA).

He also slammed them for allegedly indulging in all manner of corrupt practices alongside their House of Representatives counterparts.

Taking strong exception to this, however, the Senate accused Sagay of falsehood and mischief anchored on hate speeches, against the National Assembly, saying this is unbecoming of somebody of his status.

Senate spokesman, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, who made the position known in a statement,  noted that Sagay had been one of the few divisive elements in the Buhari administration who believe their relevance is enhanced only when they create constant tension between the legislature and the executive while also setting members of the executives against themselves.

The statement read in part: “Ordinarily, we would have ignored Sagay whose statements and attitude present him like a rascal and sadist instead of a former university teacher.

“However, his last speech in Lagos during which he was reeling out false and exaggerated figures about the salaries and allowances of legislators and also lied about the passage of anti-corruption bills, showed that he just deliberately set out to undermine the legislative institution and lower its reputation in the estimation of right thinking members of the society, and we therefore believe we should put him in his rightful place.

“As an academic whose creed should be to find facts and make comments based on truth, we believe that Sagay should stop spreading beer parlour rumours about the salaries and allowances of legislators when he could simply get the facts from the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) which is the body constitutionally charged with the responsibility of fixing salaries and allowances of all public officials.

“Let us make it clear that our salaries and allowances are open books and the details can be taken from the RMFAC by any interested party.

“Prof. Sagay, at his lecture in Lagos, also made comparisons which did little credit to his background as a lecturer as he was talking of the salary of the United States President and that of a Nigerian legislator.

“That is like comparing oranges with apples. Only a senile, jaded, rustic and outdated Professor of Law like Sagay will make such a comparison which falls flat on its face, even to an ordinary lay man. Surely, Sagay is basing his analysis on street talks.

“Sagay could not even check the records before proclaiming that “the National Assembly has not passed a single bill for the promotion of anti-corruption war since it commenced business in July 2015”.

“First, the 8th National Assembly was inaugurated on June 9, 2015 not July. Also, it is on record that the Senate has passed the Whistle Blowers’ Protection Bill, Witness Protection Bill, Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency Bill.

“This man talks like a man who is constantly under the influence of some substance and perhaps possessed as he employs the language of a tout with no civility. He is probably constantly excited and incensed by the fact of having his first opportunity to find himself in the corridors of power.

“He pontificates and talks as if the war against corruption of the Buhari administration depends solely on him to survive. He once publicly attacked the Attorney-General of the Federation and accused him of not doing enough to prosecute the war. In the Lagos speech, he took a blanket swipe at the judiciary and rubbished that entire institution which he as a lawyer has the professional, ethical and constitutional duty to respect.

“This is a man who cannot stand for councillorship election and win. We challenge him to state what his contributions are in the election of our amiable President, Muhammadu Buhari and what new ideas he has contributed to making the fight against corruption more effective since his appointment.

“With an easily excited man like him as head of an advisory body, the nation has continued to lose anti-corruption cases in courts due to the failure of his advices. He needs to do more work and talk less because media prosecution cannot win the war on corruption.”

The Senate, therefore, called on the president to caution Sagay and stop him from further creating needless tension in the relationship between the executive and the legislature.

 

 

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