The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has threatened to sue the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, following his announcement of the payment of holiday allowances to lawmakers.
Akpabio was caught on live television mistakenly stating that an ‘enjoyment allowance’ had been sent to his colleagues amid the hardship facing Nigerians.
Forgetting that the proceeding was being captured on live camera by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Akpabio said the money had been sent to senators to enjoy their holidays.
“As soon as Senator Umahi takes his oath of office, we shall rearrange the office of the leadership. To enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly,” he said.
Politics Nigeria gathered that after discovering he was on live television, Akpabio withdrew the remark.
Reacting, the group said Akpabio would be dragged to court for such a payment while Nigerians face severe economic hardship.
Tweeting, SERAP wrote: “BREAKING: We’re suing the Senate President Godswill Akpabio over the alleged payments of “holiday allowances” by the Clerk of the National Assembly into the “various accounts” of senators while some 137 million poor Nigerians face severe economic hardship.”
