Failed Restructuring: In response to El-Rufai, Saraki claims he is “making pathetic excuses”

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki responded to claims made by Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, on Arise TV regarding the failure of the All Progressives Congress, APC’s restructuring plans.

The head of the Bukola Saraki media office, Yusuph Olaniyonu, issued a statement that read, in part: “The attention of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office has been drawn to the interview granted ARISE TV on Wednesday by Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, wherein, in his usual way of ranting and making false claims, he claimed that Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, as Senate President between 2015

This assertion is not only untrue, but it also demonstrates the governor of Kaduna State’s penchant for blaming others and offering justifications.

“El-Rufai asserted that he and his party prepared a restructuring report and engaged with the National Assembly leadership to amend the constitution in 2018, but as of February 2016, more than two years earlier, the 8th National Assembly had started the process by establishing committees in both chambers. Members of the committees traveled the entire nation, producing reports and proposed legislation.

El Rufai noted that President Muhammadu Buhari had started giving his approval to constitutional change measures by 2018. 24 of the 32 Constitution Bills that the National Assembly was considering received the necessary number of votes on both chambers’ floors. Additionally, only 12 of the 24 measures received the necessary support before being referred to the state Houses of Assembly. The same El-Rufai was one of the governors that prevented the state Houses of Assembly from passing the majority of the laws. In the end, the President signed five of the twelve Bills that were presented to him in 2018 but declined to do so with seven others.

Even yet, it will be intriguing to see how the governor of Kaduna State has carried out significant restructuring Bills approved by the Saraki-led Eighth National Assembly and enacted into law, including as the Financial Autonomy for State Legislature and Judiciary Act.

“The restructuring agenda must be an afterthought or a less important one on the hierarchy of issues on the APC’s plate if the party was elected to power in 2015 and El Rufai and his allies were talking about amending the constitution to implement restructuring three years later when the government had less than a year to go in its term.

The fact that El Rufai and his party now have the Senate President and the type of Senate they desire should also be noted. However, in the 44 months since Saraki stepped down as Senate President, they have done nothing to restructure Nigeria. The so-called “good” report of his committee has not yet been converted into legislation or received the president’s approval. He even stated that his committee has written bills for restructuring.

If Saraki is also to blame for the high level of insecurity that has spread from just the Northeast to now engulfing the all of Nigeria under the APC administration, El-Rufai should inform Nigerians.

We need him to explain to Nigerians whether the former Senate President is to blame for the country’s collapsing economy, spiraling inflation, high cost of living, extremely low standard of living nationwide, widespread endemic poverty, the change in the value of the Naira from N200 to N740 per dollar, the high rate of youth unemployment, the high rate of oil theft, the alarming rate of government borrowing, and the high rate of disunity.

The governor of Kaduna State should explain to us why the APC government, to which he belongs, has failed to give Nigerians competent governance and why the party is having trouble persuading people to reward their failure, given that he is a specialist at making excuses and blaming trading.

“As he goes from one television station to another, shouting ugly threats, hurling insults, and spitting lies, we can see that in addition to his role as state governor, he has also taken on the role of spokesperson for a faltering presidential campaign. The day of judgment is rapidly approaching.