I was suspended in 2005 for saying what Jega said – Yerima

A former House of Representatives member, Dr. Haruna Yerima, has said he was suspended in 2005 for saying what Professor Attahiru Jega told the National Assembly that ‘it was mired in corruption’.

Speaking to Daily Trust yesterday, Yerima said he supported Jega for saying the truth. “No member of the National Assembly can deny that there is endemic corruption in the legislature,” he said.

The former lawmaker said corruption was perpetrated by chairmen of committees who oversight federal agencies.

The former INEC chairman said the National Assembly members were involved in bribe-forbudget extortion of heads of agencies.

In his reaction, Senate President Bukola Saraki challenged Jega to name the bribe-seeking lawmakers.

Yerima however, said “what Jega said was exactly what I said in 2005 that earned me a suspension. As a former lawmaker, I can say without any contradiction that corruption is well entrenched in the National Assembly system.”

He said the lawmakers perpetrated their corrupt acts in the oversight of MDAs.

“Other apertures of corruption in the legislature include bogus retiring of expenditure by lawmakers, systemic corruption in execution of constituency projects, where some of the contractors are lawmakers themselves, as well as the controversial process of payment of allowances,” he said.

The APC chieftain said other corrupt practices by the lawmakers included extortion of heads of federal agencies. He said that was why there were many lawmakers facing corruption charges in various courts.

Dr. Yerima said only President Muhammadu Buhari could stamp out corruption in the system through a dogged approach.