CISLAC charges N/Assembly over scandals

The Civil Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has urged the National Assembly to come clean on the various scandals denting her image.

The Executive Director of the centre, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said yesterday in a statement that the recent revelations by a former chairman of the Appropriation Committee of the House of Representatives was further exposure of the institutional fraud that had characterized the National Assembly over the years.

“We note that such practices have been going on for a long time as the National Assembly has been known, in the past, to in addition to padding the budget at the point of defence, made dubious inclusions of Constituency Projects as well as have demanded and received inducement for sectorial allocation, the Fabian Osuji calls to mind.

“We find this allegations coming at a time when issues of Senate Rules forgeries are still on-going as one scandal too many trailing the legislative arm and endangering integrity, confidence and honour that is crucial for the legislature to perform and deepen our democracy,” Rafsanjani said.

He urged the ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau and other related statutory bodies to undertake further inquest in the allegations to get to the root of the matter and bring culprits to book where possible to serve as a deterrent for the future.