The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, on Sunday said the National Assembly should not be blamed for the level of corruption in Nigeria. He said, instead, that the blame should go to the executive arm of government.
The current executive arm of government is headed by President Goodluck Jonathan. The government would be handing over on 29 May.
Ihedioha shifted the blame on Sunday, during a speech while he and his colleagues were paying a condolence visit to the House Minority Whip, Mr Samson Osagie, over the death of Osagie’s father in Benin, Edo State.
Ihedioha said: “It is unfair for anybody to indicate that the Assembly did nothing about corruption.
“First, the leadership of the House and the entire seventh Assembly discharged itself as a House that leads by example throughout.
“We led the house transparently and we kept our books open for any group or individual to appreciate how we ran the affairs of the house.
“That is why, in the seventh assembly, there were no banana peels.
“We also did everything that we could to expose corrupt practices by any branch of government and by any member of the society.”
He added that the National Assembly has done all it needed to do and it has constantly asked the executive to do its own part.
He added: “If the executive failed to do its own part, that is not the responsibility of the house and it is not an indictment on the legislature. We have exposed corruption where necessary.
On the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), Ihedioha said “We have slated it for passage and we have mentioned it and we said we have to accomplish it before the end of this 7th assembly.
“As we speak, copies of the bill for consideration have been distributed to all members of the house to enable them to study it so that they can make informed input.
“So, come this week, we invite all Nigerians to join us as we take clause by clause consideration of the bill.
“We believe that its passage will do the Nigeria economy and the petroleum industry a lot of good.”
