You are busy bodies, 15 Reps blast anti-Marafa colleagues

The call for the resignation of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, may be gathering momentum over his false declaration of asset trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, as 15 members of the House of Rwpresentatives have hit back at some of their colleagues who condemned Senator Kabiru Marafa for allegedly desecrating the sanctity of the National Assembly.

It would be recalled that Senator Marafa, APC, Zamfara, has been vocal in the call for Saraki’s resignation or be recalled. He also alleged that the controversies sorounding the 2016 budget was the handiwork of fifth columnists in the Senate, which he said started shortly after the Supreme Court ruled that Saraki should face his trial at the CCT.

He also alleged that “fifth columnists” in the Senate were responsible for the 2016 budget controversy just after the Supreme Court ruling that upheld Mr. Saraki’s trial.

Read also: Lawan group moves in, wants Saraki out

His insistence on the call and allegations brought on collision course with the Senate, which refereed him to Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions.. Marafa remains adamant, saying he stood by all he said and that he was defending the integrity of the Senate.

This led eleven members of the House believed to condemn Marafa, insisting that he has brought the legislature into disrepute.

However, on Sunday, the15 members of the House countered their colleagues in a statement, asking them to stay clear of Senate’s internal affairs.

“it must be made clear to the legislators who are mostly new members that the two Houses of the National Assembly are Independent and Separate and by getting involved in the internal crisis of the Senate shows them to be busybodies and interlopers who know nothing about the running of a bicameral legislature.

“We advise our colleagues to mind their own business and face the peoples work for which they were elected to do.”

They also concurred with Senator Marafa’s allagation on the budget controversy, sayings it was an agenda for political negotiation.

“Since we are all entitled to our opinion, we agree with Senator Marafa that the budget distortions became a political tool in the hands of some legislators and their agenda was to use it for political negotiation.

“We wonder where these legislators were when former President made his own public opinion and tirade recently.

“It is even more shocking that they were so quick to do the bidding of whoever their paymaster is that they moved even faster than the senate ethics committee set up to investigate the matter,” the statement read.

The statement was signed Honourables John Dyegh, Lawal Gumau, Ahmad Kaita, Agunsoye Rotimi, Ali Madaki, Aminu Malle, Nazir Daura , and Muhammed Soba.

Others are Ismail Gadaka, Abdulrahman Shuaibu, Sunday Adepoju, Adekunle Akinlade, Ajibola Famurewa, Abdulmahmud Gaiya and Musa Adar.

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