The Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr. Ali Ahmad has declared that President Muhammadu Buhari cannot successfully win war on corruption without a harmonious relationship and support of leaders and members of the National Assembly.

Ahmad said the war against corruption being championed by the President since he assumed office on May 29th this year will be a mirage if he continues to treat the leadership and membership of the National Assembly with disdain.

He made the pronouncements in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital while delivering a lecture "War on corruption: Role of the media in implementation of Administration of Criminal Justice Act, (ACJA) 2015" organized by the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

While reacting to the alleged cat and mouse game between the President and Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki on the manner of emergence of the latter as the Chairman of the National Assembly, Ahmad said the President should stop keeping the lawmakers at arm's length.

The Kwara Speaker who was flanked by his Oyo state counterpart, Barrister Michael Adeyemo said, "how do you win the war on corruption despite political will of the legislature, which is constitutionally empowered to expose corruption, believes it is kept at arm's length?

"I think a robust ?strategy for an administration that has only four years and that seeks to attack corruption frontally will be to support the legislature in exposing corruption, support the media in monitoring the process and mobilising the citizens accordingly. The executive will then implement the legislative recommendations as it deems fit, and then the few that so deserve are now turned over for adjudication. This is my thesis on the current fight against corruption and how ACJA can be a formidable tool in that regard."

The former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Justice who raised issues with the success outlook of the war on corruption of the Buhari administration, said "this war on corruption as presently being fought, may not be won, am afraid to say?. Am raising the alarm so that we all ponder to reconsider the current strategy. Remember raising the alarm on August 16th about the absence of an honourable attorney-general of the Federation and the implication on the declared war on corruption seasoned then that even if other ministers would wait, the Attorney-General ? is the only constitutionally mentioned minister in Section 150 of the constitution and that he alone could have been appointed while others waited. I might be proven right by the Supreme Court since at least two cases will end up there soon.

The first of course is FRN Vs Saraki where it is being contended that no one may prefer charges at the tribunal where there is no sitting Attorney-General of the federation.

The second is the decision of Justice Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal High Court being appealed by NDLEA where the judge held that the agency lacked the power to freeze millions in the account of an alleged drug baron when there was no sitting Attorney-General.

He said further, "unless am not properly informed, the current strategy of fighting corruption seems to centre on prosecution in law courts. I hope am wrong?. But if I am not, a lot of people may wonder what is wrong with that strategy. I believe five things are wrong with the current strategy of focusing the fight against corruption mainly in law courts; the president can do nothing with the first three but he may quickly intervene in the last two. These are (1) powerful nature of these defendants and their lawyers (2) the true nature of courts as a formal, deliberative process where facts must be proved beyond reasonable doubts (3) pervasiveness of corruption in Nigeria (4) doubtful constitutionality of section 306 of ACJA, prohibiting stay of proceedings and (5) detachment of the executive from the national assembly.

On the corruption missing link during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, the speaker said, "the House of Representatives ?carried out investigations and approved a total of 560 resolutions, a quarter of that was related to corruption.

That was about 140 resolutions agreed to by majority of the 360 members. Notwithstanding the above however, he said the missing link during the Jonathan years was lack of political will and not the enabling laws to fight corruption or the support from the national assembly.