The Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, said in Ilorin, yesterday, that the Federal Government, led by All Progressives Congress, APC, has no excuse not to fix the nation’s ailing economy.
This came on a day President of Catholic Bishops, the Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama, challenged President Muhammadu Buhari on the current economic hardship facing the masses.
Saraki, who spoke at a town hall meeting with his constituents in Ilorin, said no responsible leader would abandon his followers in time of distress to wallow in suffering as being experienced currently by Nigerians.
He noted that his business in government was to improve the lives of the people, stressing: “If it is for myself and family, I don’t have to be in government.”
He also warned that members of the National Economic Team must buckle up and be ready to proffer solutions to the challenges confronting the economy, saying any of them not willing to offer personal sacrifice would have scores to settle with the Senate.
Saraki, who admonished Nigerians to exercise restraint over ongoing efforts to find solution to the problems, assured that the Senate under his leadership, would not rest until solution was found.
He said: “It is a challenge to fix the problems and improve the nation’s economy. We have no excuse not to fix Nigeria’s economy but we need to be more patient in our agitation.
“It is important and of necessity to bring about solution. No responsible leader that will allow his people to suffer just because the economy is not doing well.
“Until we find solution to Nigeria’s problems, we will not rest. It is a challenge to improve the nation’s economy, and that is the primary reason people voted us into power. We can no longer engage in blame game; we are here to fix the problems. By the special grace of Almighty, we shall succeed.”
He also expressed concern that Nigerians were in the habit of aiding the economy of other nations with unbridled patronage of foreign goods at the expense of locally made products.
He said the National Assembly had provided requisite legal frameworks to strengthen the campaign for patronage of made in Nigeria goods.
On the crisis over Senate leadership, Saraki said those orchestrating his travails should withdraw from the plot as all evidences in public domain had vindicated him.
He stated further that anyone hatching a plot to pull him down was embarking on a fruitless adventure, saying rather than nursing political vendetta, efforts should be geared towards stabilizing the polity.
His words: “Those orchestrating my travails are wasting their precious time. What has been presented so far in public domain showed that we have nothing to hide. All they are doing is just to distract us, truth has begun to emerge.”
He also noted that members of the Senate made him the Senate President, saying: “When we got to the Senate, my colleagues felt that I, as an individual, Kwara State and Kwara Central, decided to make me the Senate President. For the first time in Kwara State, we are making history by producing the Senate President.
“The highest position before now for the state was the position of the majority leader held by my late father, Dr Olusola Saraki. The Senate presidency does not belong to Bukola Saraki, it belongs to the entire people of the state, but with particular reference to my people of Kwara central.
“The legacy we left behind as governor of Kwara State for eight years is there for people to see. No contractor gave any kick back to me as governor, and my being governor was to improve the lives of the people. And that is exactly what we did by laying a good foundation for the people to feel the impact of governance.”
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