Abuja (Sundiata Post) — President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Sarak, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday, discussed issues of national importance, including the issue of the 2017 budget, as well as ambassadorial nominees.
The meeting, which lasted for over 40 minutes, Saraki said, was mainly to update the President on the activities of the National Assembly, while he was away.
The Senate had, on February 8, concluded the screening of 46 ambassadorial nominees, but were yet to submit the report and transmit to Senate in plenary for confirmation.
Buhari had, on January 12, re-transmitted the nominees’ list to the Senate for confirmation, after it was first rejected.
Saraki spoke to the State House correspondents on why they visited the Presidential Villa.
“After being away for a while is good for us to meet and generally review things that were done in his absence, so is normal consultation,” he said.
Saraki was asked to confirm, from a medical doctor point of view, if the President was fit to continue working.
“I came here to discuss the issues regarding the activities in the National Assembly in his absence. The President met with us, and I think we were there for over 40 minutes. I was not talking to myself. So, you know he was responding, and we were engaging, and he engaged us very well. We discussed issues of national interests. So, we are happy to see him back, and he is back at the office, and he is doing his work,” he explained.
Saraki also spoke on what to expect now that the President is back.
“Well, the budget is ongoing, things that we passed in his absence, the issue of the CJN (Chief Justice of Nigeria), the Eurobond, just general issues that are pending, the issue of the ambassadorial nominees that is due, the stability in the Niger Delta a whole range of issues were covered in the short period of time,” he said.
He also spoke about passage of the budget.
“We are working on it, and our target is still this month, and we are working very hard to ensure we meet that deadline,” he added.
Dogara, on his part, who said he was not at the Presidential Villa to assess the President, said fights between the executive and the legislature was allowed, provided it is in the interest of the people.
“I have always said this even before Mr. President that in other climes it is always the province of the legislature to fight the executive, we fight on issues bothering on national interests but we expect to cooperate more than we fight in the interest of our people to ensure that there is progress, one government no division. So, it is in the realisation of this that we will always extend the needed support to ensure that he succeeds so that our government will be rated as a successful one,” Dogara said.