Budget: 15 Reps align with Marafa

Fifteen members of the House of Representatives, yesterday, called on 11 of their colleagues who, last week, issued a statement in support of Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki in his feud with Senator Kabiru Marafa, to stay away from the internal affairs of the Senate.
The 11 representatives, led by Zakari Mohammed, said in statement they issued that Marafa should respect the sanctity of the Senate.
Marafa is currently facing suspension from the Senate after declaring support for the letter written by a former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, calling on the National Assembly to make its budget transparent.
The 15 lawmakers said they supported Marafa’s position that some lawmakers took advantage of the budget controversy to make political gains.
In a statement, yesterday, the 15 representatives, mainly of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said that their colleagues went into a matter that did not concern them, calling on them to exercise restraint.
The statement read in part: “It must be made clear to the legislators, who are mostly new members, that the two Houses of the National Assembly are independent and separate, and by getting involved in the internal crisis of the Senate shows them to be busybodies and interlopers, who know nothing about the running of a bicameral legislature.
“For Legislators who swore to uphold the constitution, it is surprising that they fail to recognize the inalienable fundamental right of Senator Marafa to free Speech in our constitutional democracy and as guaranteed under Chapter 4 of the Nigerian Constitution.
 “We are happy with the peaceful atmosphere and stability in the House of Representatives, therefore, Speaker Yakubu Dogara should call these members to order.”
The 15 representatives that signed the statement are John Dyegh (Benue), Lawal Yahaya Gumau (APC, Bauchi), Ahmad Babba Kaita (APC, Katsina), Agunsoye Rotimi (APC, Lagos), Aliyu Sani Madaki (APC, Kano), Aminu Malle (APC, Taraba), Nasiru Sani Zango-Daura (APC, Katsina) Muhammed Musa Soba (APC, Kaduna), Ismail Gadaka (APC, Yobe),  Abdulrahman Shuaibu (APC, Adamawa), SundayAdepoju (APC, Oyo); Adekunle Akinlade (APC, Ogun); Musa Sarkin Adar (APC, Sokoto); Ajibola Famurewa (APC, Osun) and Abdulmamud Gaiya (APC, Kano).