President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday night, broke his silence on the alleged rejection of the South-East Development Commission Bill, that failed to scale through second reading in the House of Representatives.
Recall, that about not less than 43 South-East Lawmakers in the Lower Chamber, had recently presented a bill seeking for the establishment of the South-East Development Commission, but was rejected by a voice vote during the plenary.
Reacting to the rejection, Buhari who spoke through his Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters (House Of Representatives) Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila, said that Mr President has nothing to do with the bill, hence his name should not be dragged into it.
He noted that the comments made by the Deputy Minority Leader of the House, Chukwuka Onyema, were barbaric and uncalled for.
Recall also, that after the rejection of the bill by the House, Oyema had angrily said that, “even the President made some impeachable offences, but that they did not look into such matters for peace.”
The impeachment statement had drawn the anger of the Presidency, that had call for immediate caution, and trying to give a dog a bad name and hang it.
“I was shocked to hear this from such a Lawmaker, who ought to know that the Executive arm of government is different from the Legislative arm, in practice and principle. It is also on record that since the inception of this administration, Mr President has vowed not to interfere in the internal operations of the National Assembly.
“To put the record straight, Mr President, who is the Head of the Executive, also forwards bills to the National Assembly for approval, before they become law. However, the bill in question was sponsored by the 43 Members of the House from the South-East.
“As a three-term Member of the House and a two-term Deputy Minority Leader, I want to use this medium to appeal to Members of the House, to support Mr President in his efforts at making Nigeria great again, as one united entity where all of us will be proud of.
“It is noteworthy that Mr President is committed to even development of all parts of the country, and he shall not do anything to favour any geopolitical zone to the detriment of others”, he said.
