No secrecy in NASS budgets, salaries – Mark

Immediate past President of the Senate, David Mark, reiterated yesterday that the budgets and salaries of Senators and members of the House of Representatives were open, just as he stressed that there was no secrecy in the affairs of the National Assembly.

He said that the Senate was the first to cut its 2015 budget and asked Nigerians to appreciate what the lawmakers have been doing.

Former Senate President David Mark
He said: "I can put my hand on my chest without fear of contradiction to say we make a lot of sacrifices in our budgetary systems."
According to Senator Mark, parliamentary practices and procedures dictate that all issues are carried out in the open, even as he described as sad and ridiculous, impression by people that the National Assembly budget had continued to increase annually, adding "this is not correct. It is unwarranted and needless accusation."
Senator Mark boasted that in 2008, the National Assembly, under his leadership, returned N7 billion unspent funds to the national treasury during late President Umaru Yar'Adua's administration, which would have been stolen by some.

Senator Mark maintained that such allegation was borne out of deliberate mischief, blackmail or outright ignorance.
According to him, "How can anyone claim that the National Assembly budget is secret. Or that our earnings are secret. The National Assembly's budget is part and parcel of the Federal budget. It is not a separate document. If anybody is in doubt, he or she should get a copy of the National budget and clarify. It is a public document.
"Every time you hear people talk about National Assembly budget as if it is independent of the Federal budget. For heaven's sake, the National Assembly budget is an open document. It is a public document. Unless you are saying you have never seen the National Budget.

"The National Assembly budget is in the open. Anybody can access it . We don't fix our salaries. Appropriate federal government agency does. What we earn is open. I think we should put an end to this cheap blackmail.

"I make bold to say that the National Assembly under my leadership was bold, courageous, steadfast and truly patriotic. We stood on the side of the people, the truth, transparency and above all in the interest of the nation.

"We were the first to cut our budget in 2015. People should appreciate what we are doing. We tightened our belts more than any other ministry or parastatal today. I can put my hand on my chest without fear of contradiction to say we make a lot of sacrifices in our budgetary systems."

In a statement by his Media Assistant, Paul Mumeh, Senator Mark who cautioned against reducing critical national matters to politics, said, "People should not play politics with serious national issues like appropriations.