Without any prejudice, I wish to express my dissatisfaction at your style of leadership since the inauguration of the 7th legislature in June 2011. Having observed the conduct of your leadership for about a year, it is important to draw attention to serious lapses on your part that can bring the entire image of the House into disrepute and in jeopardy should all the issues become a public knowledge.

"As legislators, we are expected to be extraordinarily honest, transparent and prudent in the day-to-day running of the affairs of the Assembly. As lawmakers and custodians of the law and order, we should shun any acts that are detrimental to the welfare of members as well as the wellbeing of the generality of the people of our constituencies. Indeed, ours must be leadership by example. Unfortunately your attitude and general conduct in the management of the affairs of the Assembly have been one of disappointment and regret because you have been so power intoxicated and arrogant that you have no regret for the views and feelings of anybody on important matters of the House.

"In his wisdom, Sen. Bukola Saraki retained some of us for certain purposes. We were probably asked to come back because of the experience we had gained in the course of our last tenure. We are expected to serve as the stabilising factor by providing from time to time useful advice and suggestions on issues of common interest. By arrogating all power to yourself and conducting the affairs of the Assembly in absolute secrecy, you have given enough room for suspicion as many of us are of the view that large-scale fraud and financial mismanagement are the order of the day as far as the Assembly matters are concerned. Otherwise I would like you to address or clarify these issues:

• Why has there been no principal officers’ meeting since the inception of the 7th legislature nearly a year ago? Rather what we witnessed were mere briefing sessions which is abnormal.
• Why was the Clerk/Secretary to this statutory Body of Principal Officers not invited to cover the meetings (if any), as was always the case in the 5th and 6th legislature?
• If you have been holding the Principal Officers’ meetings as mandated by law, where are the records in terms of minutes, resolutions etc?
• Records of contracts being awarded without due process of law, and the amount of consultations with the principal officers, tender boards’ procedure etc
• Documents of all the contracts singlehandedly awarded by you since inauguration
• Renovation of the Assembly Complex for which funds have been released in the last one year
• Award of contract and signing of agreement to your legal/consulting firm to handle the clearing of the Assembly Complex to the tune of Eighteen Million Naira
• Purchase of flat screen television sets and various electrical gadgets worth several millions of naira without recourse to the Principal Officers and of course without appropriate documentation by the Tender Committee
• Monthly allocation to the House in the last 11 months i.e June 2011 to April 2012
• Salaries and allowances of both members and the staff within the last one year
• What is the left over on a monthly basis after salaries and allowances?
• How much was the money released for the recent overseas trip and much was spent so far out of the N135,000,000 (N135m)?
• How much money has so far been released for capital projects between 2011 and 2012 and how much has been spent?
• How was the fifteen million naira (N15,000,000) released for the hosting of the North-Central Forum of Speakers spent?
• Details of the expenses incurred for the pursuit of your personal ambition of becoming the Chairman of the Niger Speakers Forum
• Money released for the Eid-il-kabir/Xmas and New year celebrations
• The re-award of website project that had been completed by the 6th Assembly, and on which you also collected N33,888,700 via a memo – KWHA/S/35/121/82 of 19th March, 2012
• What about the N81,500,000 you intend to collect with a memo KWHA/5/135/Vol./455 of the 12th of March 2012 on the award of various contracts without the knowledge of the rest of the Principal Officers and as usual without due process?

"Mr. Speaker, without furnishing us adequate information on the above subject matters as a matter of urgency, we cannot in good conscience dispel or deny the insinuation that the transactions are characterised with sharp practices which require proper investigation as he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. As a foremost lawmaker and a lawyer by profession, you cannot claim to be unaware of the deleterious effects of financial mismanagement and other abuses on the integrity and reputation of the Assembly. With this recklessness of yours, how can the House carry out its oversight functions when you are so corrupt and utterly insensitive?

"On a number of occasions, I have contemplated and even threatened to resign my position as Chief Whip because of greedy and self-centred behaviour of the Honourable Speaker. I rescued a lot of situations that could have brought the integrity of the House into disrepute, especially the purported sack of 18 members of casual labour to pave the way for dubious and self-serving award of contract your consulting firm for N18, 000,000

"Other than for you to succeed as Speaker, there is nothing else to my insistence that things must be conducted in accordance with the civilised standards. Unfortunately, each time I offered well-meaning advice and suggestions on various House issues, your responses have always been one of rude and arrogant attacks, much like somebody who is scared of public scrutiny. The Legislative Arm of Government, as I once pointed out to you, should set enviable standard in democratic practices in terms of openness and accountability because we are supposed to assist the other arms of government to properly carry out their functions and responsibilities.

"Here, it is important to assure you of our loyalty and support since your success is my pride. The Deputy Speaker, who keeps misadvising and misleading you, is the person to be wary of. I once told him that in the event of your downfall, it was not going to be a straight transition to him because of the political arrangement on the ground if that is the real reason he is doing all the sycophancy. As an elderly person and a father, I told you severally that I will never bear any malice against you. "However, it is within my rights and the rights of other members to know what is happening regarding the general administration and finances of the Assembly. And keeping us in the dark can only breed disharmony and crisis as we shall firmly insist on our fundamental right to know and be involved in the process.

"We all must be prepared to learn one or two things from the leadership style of our great leader, Sen. Bukola Saraki. He is open, transparent and wants the best for all of us. He does not believe in exclusiveness when it has to with public administration and that is why he was able to achieve so much in democratic and humanitarian leadership. What gave Senator Saraki the significant mileage is his readiness to take advice and useful suggestions on important issues.

"Former Speaker Ibrahim Bio also did well because in spite of his experience as legislator at both the State and National levels, he was also ready to consult and take advice on matters of the House. We should thank God for his time.

In conclusion Mr Speaker, you can only fool the people for some time you cannot fool them all the time. I have decided to follow this path of truth and justice because sooner than later these issues will become a matter of public interest and there will be no hiding place for somebody like well known for fairness, justice and equity. It must be recognised that as members we are all equal and therefore entitled to be respected and our views and grievances taken into consideration as you lead responsibly.

"I wish to call on all members to be vigilant and be ready to check the excesses of the corrupt leadership of the Hon. Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abdulrazak Atunwa. Otherwise no one of us will be exonerated when it becomes a full-scale scandal in the Assembly."