National Assembly Lacks Enough Fund – Saraki

Senate President Bukola Saraki

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has lamented that the National Assembly lacks enough fund in discharging its duties, contrary to a wide perception that the legislative arm is over funded.

The Senate President, in a statement by his special assistant on print media, Chuks Okocha, said this on Wednesday when he paid a visit to the chairman and members of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) at its temporary office located in Utako, Abuja.

Naija News gathered that the chairman of NASC, Adamu Fika, lamented that the commission still operates from a rented apartment and asked the senate president for a permanent office of the commission inside the National Assembly complex.

Mr. Saraki promised to support the project but explained that the National Assembly is financially constraint which has posed a major challenge.

He said, “One of the things that I see here today is the issue of budgetary constraints. However, the impression around the country is often that the National Assembly has too much money. But we have seen the challenges of the last few years.”

“As we work through the number of bills passed, the public hearings held, and the number of ad-hoc committees that have been established — we know the challenges of not being able to fund some of our activities.

“So far, I am happy to report that despite these constraints, the 8th Senate has been able to surpass all previous Senates in the number of Bills that we have passed in 2-years — despite the funding gaps.

“We know that as we continue over time, people will begin to have more confidence in the National Assembly. However, right now, the challenges that we have are the issue of perception, and the issue of funding. We need to work hard to change this.”

Mr. Saraki therefore, called for the commission’s operation to improve the image of the National Assembly.