Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Friday, disagreed with the National Assembly budget, which the governor says lacks transparency.
The governor also expressed doubt over the support or otherwise of the current National Assembly, particularly the Senate, in the fight against corruption by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
Mr Dogara on the other hand, challenged state governors in Nigeria to champion the call for transparency in budgeting by publishing their annual salaries, security votes, as well as explaining how they use local government allocations.
Both men made this known while speaking at a five-day retreat organised for top management officials of the National Assembly, in Kaduna State.
The retreat, theme: ‘Repositioning the National Assembly for effective service delivery’, brought together stakeholders who underscored the need to make bureaucracy more competitive and innovative in order to achieve the objective of good governance.
In response, Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki, who was represented by the Senate leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, stressed the need for the Legislature and Executive to work together to deliver on promises made to the citizens.
He however added that the National Assembly has been in the fore front in the fight against corruption at all levels of governance contrary to whatever the Kaduna state governor believes.
As the nation awaits the passage of the 2017 budget, the Kaduna State Governor nonetheless, stressed the need for public office holders to be independently bureaucratic in order to revitalise public services which is an essential tool in promoting and protecting government policies.