Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, says the National Assembly does not hate President Muhammadu Buhari but only exercising its independence.
Dogara said this on Saturday at the launching of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for the governorship and National Assembly candidates in Bununu, Bauchi State.
“None of us hates President Buhari and we are not against him, but we are only exercising our independence as contained in the Constitution.
“We are all looking at the plight of our people, especially insurgency, poverty and other vices that have continued to bedevil the masses.
“You can see what is happening between American president and the legislature which is normal,” he said.
Dogara recalled that NASS had,sometime last year, initiated a Bill for the autonomy of Local Government Areas but regretted that it was aborted by State Assemblies.
He emphasised that the autonomy would have diversified development to rural areas where majority of the people lived.
Dogara stated that Alhaji Abdulkadir Muhammed, the Bauchi State governorship candidate of the PDP would decentralise the local government system in the state, even without the approval of the Federal Government.
The speaker said that personal efforts made by him to reconstruct mosques and schools in his counstituency were scuttled by some individuals.
He warned the people against trying to instigate trouble in the areas, saying that “it is always retrogressive.”
Muhammed, while addressing the gathering, called on the people of the area to resist the proposal by INEC to relocate collation centre from Zwall to Dass.
Mohammed, who stressed the need for people to change the present administration in the state, assured that PDP would take over the state in 2019 general elections.
He pledged to provide functional education, infrastructure and agriculture, if elected on March 2.
