Senate President Ahmad Lawan has said the cordial relationship between President Muhammadu Buhari and the Ninth National Assembly remains intact.
He said the recent altercation between the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN) and the National Assembly Joint Committee supervising the ministry would not strain the smooth relations between the Executive and the Legislature.
The Senate President insisted that the planned recruitment of 774,000 Nigerians for the Special Public Works (SPW) Programme of the Federal Government would remain suspended until the National Assembly is availed of the necessary explanation on the selection of the beneficiaries.
Lawan spoke on Monday during an interactive session with the Senate Press Corps in Abuja.
The Senate President, who was asked if the recent disagreement between Keyamo and a National Assembly Joint Committee was not an indication that members of the Executive were not on the same page with the Legislature, said it is only President Buhari that defines the Executive and not any of his employees.
Lawan said the National Assembly approved and appropriated N52 billion for the SPW programme under the supervision of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
According to him, the National Assemly also has the right to demand to know the processes and procedures through which the programme will be implemented.
He added: “So, our joint committee was right. The committee was right to ask the questions. We are meant to interrogate the processes through which such programmes will be implemented.
“The committee resolved that the programme should be suspended until such explanations are provided on how this programme will be implemented. We stand by that.”
He said the recent altercation between the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN) and the National Assembly Joint Committee supervising the ministry would not strain the smooth relations between the Executive and the Legislature.
The Senate President insisted that the planned recruitment of 774,000 Nigerians for the Special Public Works (SPW) Programme of the Federal Government would remain suspended until the National Assembly is availed of the necessary explanation on the selection of the beneficiaries.
Lawan spoke on Monday during an interactive session with the Senate Press Corps in Abuja.
The Senate President, who was asked if the recent disagreement between Keyamo and a National Assembly Joint Committee was not an indication that members of the Executive were not on the same page with the Legislature, said it is only President Buhari that defines the Executive and not any of his employees.
Lawan said the National Assembly approved and appropriated N52 billion for the SPW programme under the supervision of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
According to him, the National Assemly also has the right to demand to know the processes and procedures through which the programme will be implemented.
He added: “So, our joint committee was right. The committee was right to ask the questions. We are meant to interrogate the processes through which such programmes will be implemented.
“The committee resolved that the programme should be suspended until such explanations are provided on how this programme will be implemented. We stand by that.”
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