Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has said that any legislature that cannot say no to the executive is of no relevance.
Saraki made this remark on Friday in the June 12, 2026 edition of ‘The Platform’ aired on Channels Television.
He stated that the legislature which simply receives executive proposals, approves them without scrutiny, and goes home has not fulfilled its constitutional mandate.
According to him, the parliament provides an arena where a divided country can argue without breaking, regardless of where one comes from.
“So, what I learned in those four years in the National Assembly as Senate President is that a legislature that cannot say no is not a legislature at all.
“A legislature which simply receives, accepts proposals, approves them without scrutiny, and goes home, has not fulfilled its constitutional mandate.
“The independence of the National Assembly is not rebellion against the government of the day. I say that so loud, having been a victim.
“We’re talking about how those institutions can do what they are meant to do in providing the mandate, because if the National Assembly is independent, it’s a very great thing that makes the government legitimate, because a mandate that is never tested is a man that no one can trust,” he said.
