'National Assembly is filled with thieves,' Obasanjo insists

Obasanjo said the padding revelation corroborates his 2012 comments that the National Assembly is an institution filled with rogues and armed robbers.

The former president was said to have stated this in a telephone interview with Premium Times.

Obasanjo was quoted as saying: "That (budget padding) is criminal and they should be held accountable for it. There should be a showdown between what is right and what is wrong. After such a showdown, what is right will definitely prevail and the criminals will be put to shame. They are the contractors, the jury, the judge and prosecutors."

"They put the projects in the budgets and they do the projects by themselves or through contractors they nominate. Where is integrity? Where is honesty? Who supervises the job? Who ascertains that the job has been done? It is not in their place to execute projects. It is illegal. They are thieves. I have always held the view that they are thieves, can you all see it now?”

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Obasanjo has on several occasions criticised the National Assembly, but the lawmakers believe the incessant attacks is connected to the failure of the former president's third term bid, which was reportedly frustrated by the lawmakers.