Dogara: State assemblies must ask govs questions
The 36 houses of assembly must ask their governors how they spend all monies accruing to them, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said.
Declaring open a retreat for members and management staff of the Gombe State House of Assembly in Abuja, yesterday, Dogara said the kind of “smooth relationship” between some state legislatures and their governors was a source of concern.
He said the theme of the retreat, ‘Good Governance Through Effective Law Making’, could not have come at a better time as Nigeria was in dire need of good governance through good government.
“Let me say this. The responsibility of managing resources at the state level is vested on the legislature and not the executive. All monies accruing to the state, it doesn’t matter from where, are not meant to be spent except with the express approval of the state’s legislature.
“In Gombe State, I know we’ve had good governance. I can say that because I’m a living witness. What I can’t say is whether the good governance is delivered as a result of the good work of the state assembly or not. But I can say without fear of any contradiction that the role of the state legislature in Nigeria is something we have to re-examine.
“From the federally collected receipts, more money goes to the states than the centre. I’m not advocating that state assemblies should be confrontational, but we can be confrontational without being combative. The citizens should be afraid if the relationship between the executive and the legislature is defined as very smooth. Our work is to ask questions and someone must answer those questions.
“The relationship between the state legislatures and executives in some states is too smooth, and that gives a lot of our people a source of concern,” he said.
Speaking on the independence of the state legislatures, the speaker said: “We have offered state legislatures independence in the constitution amendment, so we have no role at all. What remains is for you to take it. But if you think it’s too hot for you to take, then return it.”
In a goodwill message, Senator Joshua Lidani, who represented Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, said the retreat would enable the state legislators sharpen their skills.