ABUJA–DEPUTY Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah has taken a swipe at former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the latter’s statement, that there were no men of integrity in the National Assembly.
Na’ Allah, who was in the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007, when Obasanjo held sway as president, asked the former president to bury his head in shame following his desperate attempts to elongate his term, using the National Assembly then. He accused the former President of heavily inducing members of the legislature then to actualize his third term bid, and asked Obasanjo to know that by not only rejecting his N50m million bribe but also killing his third term agenda, the legislature was not a place for thieves.
In a statement personally signed by him, Senator Na’Allah, who represents Kebbi South Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, said he was not corrupt, daring the former leader to prove him otherwise. The statement read: “My attention has been drawn to a purported statement attributed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in which it was alleged that he made a sweeping statement to the effect that there are no men of integrity in the National Assembly.
“I am respectfully taking exception to the statement which I hope is not true. To start with, it is not in my character to join issues with elder statesmen who have had the privileges of superintending over the affairs of our great country, Nigeria. “This exception has become necessary in view of the enormity of the alleged statement to my person and integrity.
If former President Obasanjo can come out with one proven record of corruption against me as a person, I promise to vacate my seat as a senator of the federal republic of Nigeria. “For the records, I was the only member from Kebbi State who did not find it worthy at that time of collecting the sum of N50 million as an inducement to subvert the constitution and provide a constitutional framework for the third term ambition of President Obasanjo. “I find this statement if it is true to be reckless and terrifying.
The implications of the statement is to say that the entire over 170 million Nigerians have not elected a single person with integrity among the 469 members of the National Assembly. This is definitely rhapsodic and does not conform to commonsense and reason,” he said.
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