NATIONAL: Executive, not legislature, responsible for corruption – Reps member

THE LAWMAKER representing Gwer/ Gwer West federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Mark Gbillah, has berated the executive for its sheer profligacy.

Gbillah said the executive has been perpetrating corruption by not providing commensurate developmental projects for the people despite having 98 per cent of the country’s annual budget.

The lawmaker, who spoke today in Makurdi, lamented the management of the nation’s resources by the executive.

He added that Nigerians have been misguided to believe that the legislators are the problem instead of the executive.

He said, “The budget of the National Assembly every fiscal year never exceeds N138billion. In fact, it is usually around N125billion. Now let’s take this year’s budget, for instance, that is about 1.1 percent of the entire budget. The judiciary takes about one percent while the executive sits on about 97 to 98% of the annual budget and yet Nigerians wonder where corruption is.

“You can see how they have misguided Nigerians not to look at the fact. Is it the one percent that goes to the National Assembly that is destroying Nigeria’s economy? Even if we cancel all the pays of the legislators what difference will that make?

“We must all know that the budget of the National Assembly is not given to members to share. The money goes to the running of the National Assembly.

“The legislature is separate from the administrative arm of the National Assembly. You have the civil service, you have the National Institute of Legislative Studies, we have the Committee work, before you come to the allowances of our aides and the allowances and salaries of lawmakers and all the operation.

“That is what that budget goes for. But unfortunately, you will see people carrying out some mathematics sharing the budget among the lawmakers.

“Who does that? Should we divide the 98% of the budget that goes to the executive among the president, his vice and the ministers?

“These are things Nigerians need to really start to understand. People have pitched Nigerians against the legislators. But Nigerians need to support us to enable us do our work. If they look at us as the problem, they will stop us from being able to look at where the real problem is based, which is the executive.

“Nigerians should be wise and rise up to where the problem of their country is. It is in the executive, that is where the corruption is and that is where our money is mismanaged.”