Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has told the national leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, to provide proof for his allegation that the National Assembly padded the nation’s budget for four years.
Tinubu had on Sunday accused Saraki and Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, of spearheading budget padding since 2015.
In a statement on Monday by his spokesperson, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki described Tinubu’s allegations as ‘careless’ and asked for its withdrawal.
Part of the statement read: “Since we have taken it for granted that Tinubu’s attack on Saraki every three months — quarterly — will come as expected, we would just have ignored his statement but for the fact that it was filled with untruth, fallacies and misrepresentations.
“The statement was another effort to sell a concocted narrative about the Eighth National Assembly and its leadership.
“In all the three budgets already passed by the National Assembly, we challenge Tinubu to make specific reference to where Dr. Saraki and the leadership of the National Assembly ‘sought to pad with pet projects’ as he alleged.
“Tinubu should be graceful enough to substantiate this allegation.
“We consider that allegation careless, irresponsible and callous.
“We therefore demand that he should withdraw it.”
