By Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged lawmakers to always place the interest of the people first in all deliberations and negotiations.
He said the autonomy of state legislatures had been constrained by the constitution.
President Buhari spoke yesterday while hosting the Conference of Speakers at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Chief Femi Adesina, the President said the constitution upholds the standard for all public officers and institutional operations.
He said it must be adhered to, or altered to reflect some dynamics and realities of the country.
“I try as much as I can to always be loyal and obedient to the constitution so long as it is humanly possible,” he said.
The President said his administration would keep pursuing the prosperity of all Nigerians by creating more jobs for the people and plugging the weaknesses exploited by many to make quick money.
“The Eighth National Assembly sometimes kept the budget for seven months. And I had to call the Senate President and the Speaker then. I told them by delaying passage of the budget, you are not hurting Buhari but the people,” he added.
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President Buhari said the delay persisted, despite his efforts to seek more understanding.
He promised to ensure equity and fairness that put the ordinary Nigerian on top priority.
The President also assured that he would continue to focus on health, education, infrastructure and improving lives through social intervention programmes.
“We have, in the last four years, dedicated significant resources to key social services sectors, especially in health, education, as well as our massive social investment programmes. We have also started restoring our infrastructure to levels that this country expects.
“I also want to assure you that we remain committed to ensuring that equity and fairness prevail in governance. I will ensure that we consult your conference to further enhance the positive impact of our interventions across the country,” President Buhari said.
The Chairman of the Conference of Speakers, who is also the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, hailed the President for the fight against corruption and insurgency, as well as efforts to ensure financial autonomy for the legislature and judiciary.
Obasa said the legislatures would be further pleased if the President could issue an Executive Order directing the Accountant General of the Federation to separate funds for the state legislature and judiciary at source.
President meets 36 Houses of Assembly speakers at Aso Villa
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met with speakers of the 36 states Houses of Assembly at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the speakers were led by their Chairman Mudashiru Obassa, who is also the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly.
NAN reports that though the agenda of the meeting was unknown, President Buhari and the speakers were expected to deliberate on national issues, including security and autonomy of the Assemblies.
Those at the meeting included House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila; Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.
Others include the Permanent Secretary, State House, Jamil Arabi and the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters.
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