The House of Representatives have faulted comments made by President Goodluck Jonathan during the Presidential Media Chat.
President Jonathan on Sunday had said that the Reps were politicizing issues and turning into a form of “Parliamentary dictatorship.” The President also said most of his cabinet members had spent 25% of their time appearing before the National Assembly and that the Petroleum Minister, Diezani Madueke had appeared approximately 200 times at the National Assembly.
However in its response, the House stated that it could summon any minister 1000 times if that was what was required and that they were representing the Nigerian people.
Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Zakari Mohammed said, “We recall the Doctrine of Necessity; this House contributed to his stability in office.
“We hold the office of Mr. President in high esteem, but it is unfortunate that he said we conduct politicised probes. The House is about accountability; Diezani has to appear before us because we cannot ask questions in her absence.
“She has to come; she has to be accountable to the Nigerian people.
“As legislators, we are also accountable to our electorate.”
“There is no limit to the number of times a minister can appear before the House for the purpose of accountability. There are many investigations or issues being considered by the House.
“That a minister had appeared before over a particular issue does not mean that when summoned over a different subject, the minister cannot appear again.
“Besides, on this issue of expenditure on jets, she (Diezani) has yet to appear before the House; she has not appeared on the matter before.
“Therefore, Mr. President should not use her previous appearances over entirely different subjects, as an excuse for her refusal to answer questions in respect of the expenditure on jets.”
Leave a Reply