We’re not at war with NASS –SGF

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, has assured Senate President, Bukola Saraki that the executive and legislature are not at war.
Rather, the two arms of government, he said, will work together to deliver on the promises of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to Nigerians.
The SGF said this when he led a delegation on a courtesy visit to Saraki and the Senate leadership, yesterday.
Mustapha noted that both arms of government must cooperate if the current administration is to achieve its desired results and redeem lost opportunities.
He said the visit was meant to thank Saraki for attending his swearing-in ceremony, last Wednesday, and also, to “convey the gratitude of President Muhammadu Buhari and the government on the able leadership that you have given the National Assembly as a whole.
“The role of the National Assembly is quite distinct. You (National Assembly) legislate for the good governance of the Federation; you provide oversight and you also ensure that funds that are appropriated are used judiciously for the purposes they are meant and for the benefit of the people of Nigeria.
“Your responsibility is so enormous in this enterprise. I will say this and I will say it quite frankly sir, we are not in competition with the National Assembly. We are not rivals with the National Assembly.
“We are joint partners in this enterprise. If the National Assembly does not cooperate with the Presidency, I am not very sure we will be able to achieve the desired result that we want to see given the mandate that we have freely received from the people of Nigeria.
“So, this is basically to come and assure you that in every area that you are soliciting for the cooperation of the Presidency, being the secretary to the government, I would ensure that the National Assembly receives that cooperation because jointly if we work together, whatever has been lost in the past we can quickly redeem and recover and make progress so that by the time the first four-year mandate that we received comes to an end, we can show on our scorecard that these were the promises we made.
“Let me put it on record that your leadership has helped tremendously in stabilising the polity and also, given the purposeful direction that we require at the presidency to ensure that we deliver on the promises that we made to the Nigeria people when we sought for their mandate in 2015.”
|Sun