President Muhammadu Buhari says he rates the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, low on patriotism for delay in passing the 2019 Appropriation Act.
Mr Buhari said this on Monday night in a recorded interview broadcast on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
Buhari said he had told the legislative leaders of his reservation while assenting the bill on Monday morning.
“I think a culture was developed in the National Assembly that they should dictate the terms, which was wrong. It is the executive that dictates the terms and takes it before the legislature. It (the legislature) will examine it and agree or disagree with it,” Buhari said.
“But when they go around posing that they are the government and not the executive, then that’s the problem. I felt and I spoke personally to the Senate President, Saraki, and the leader of the House, Dogara. They could not deny it.
“I asked them how they felt to hold the country at ransom for seven months without passing a budget. Unfortunately, they were not hurting me; they were hurting the country. So, really, in terms of patriotism, I think I rated them very low indeed.”
