The Senator representing Borno South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has blamed the presidency for the defection of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Ndume, a close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, said the presidency did nothing to lobby Saraki, Dogara and others to remain in the ruling party.

The lawmaker, who is the immediate-past Leader of the Senate, pointed out that the executive should take part of the blames on what is going on in the National Assembly today.

Ndume told Sun that Saraki and Dogara were looking for excuses which the presidency provided for them, adding that they were not given the needed attention.

“I can’t predict what will happen tomorrow. The problem we are facing in the National Assembly is not entirely the fault of the legislative arm of government,” he said.

“It takes two to tangle. The executive has not been lobbying, showing concerns or making reasonable efforts to reach out. What they have done isn’t enough. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten to where we are today.

“The other side (Saraki and Dogara) did what they did because they were looking for excuses and the excuses were handed down to them.

“When a baby is crying and you don’t pay attention to it, it can be destructive. I think that was what happened. Like I said earlier, there is no cause for alarm.

“I am not even happy with the attention the media is giving to the face off. The attention should be what they are supposed to do for Nigerians.

“My concern for example is the shutting down of the National Assembly. There is no hope that we are going to resume until after the primaries.

“Matters of urgent national importance are there in the cooler. We have confirmations pending, the budget of INEC, approval of loans to fund the 2018 budget and other requests are just there.

“Even some bills from the Presidency and an amendment to the Electoral Act are pending. These are the issues we should be talking about instead of dwelling on the face off.”