Buhari blames Saraki, Dogara for Delayed Passage of 2019 Budget

President Muhammadu Buhari has criticized the leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives regarding the delayed passage of the 2019 budget.

According to Punch, President Buhari called out Senate president, Senator Bukola Saraki as well as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara over the delayed passage of the 2019 Appropriation bill.

Speaking during a taped interview which aired on Monday night on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the President said,

“I think a culture was developed in the National Assembly that they should dictate the terms, which was wrong. It is the executive that dictates the terms and takes it before the legislature. It (the legislature) will examine it and agree or disagree with it.

“But when they go around posing that they are the government and not the executive, then that’s the problem. I felt and I spoke personally to the Senate President, Saraki, and the leader of the House, Dogara. They could not deny it.

“I asked them how they felt to hold the country at ransom for seven months without passing a budget. Unfortunately, they were not hurting me; they were hurting the country. So, really, in terms of patriotism, I think I rated them very low indeed.”

Missed the interview? You can watch in full here: