Obasanjo, a necessary nuisance that should be tolerated, says rep

The member representing Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Yusuf, has said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo has a right to be angry with the National Assembly for collecting his billions, but denied him a third term.

Speaking at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Week in Lokoja yesterday, he indicated that the former President is a necessary nuisance that should be tolerated.

He said the former President has the perchance for taking on the National Assembly on allegations of corruption when himself was the brain behind corruption in the chamber during his botched third term agenda.

The lawmaker recalled how Obasanjo invested billions of naira on the third term agenda, but could not achieve it.Yusuf noted that Obasanjo’s allegations keep repeating, because he didn’t get what he wanted and it is a carryover anger.

He, however, reminded the former president that the 8th National Assembly was not the one there when he gave the money out, asking whether what he did then was anti-corruption.

The lawmaker stated: “For every society and people, people like Obasanjo is one of a kind, you just have to live with them. They define who is righteous and who is not by their own parameters and the rules change to sooth whatever they are saying at that particular time.

“There has never been any government in Nigeria he doesn’t criticise, apart from his own government. There has never been any President in Nigeria that he has not written a letter to.

“Yes, that there is corruption in the National Assembly, but I disagree that the degree of corruption in the National Assembly is as high as Obasanjo is painting it.

“The budget of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) alone is N650billion. The Nigeria national Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has about N1 trillion. The consultancy that comes out of CBN is enough for two years National Assembly budget. “Unfortunately, the focus on the National Assembly has put away the checks and balances on other sectors.”