The N70 billion allocated to the National Assembly from the N819 billion Supplementary Appropriation Act Bill is not a “gift” to Senators and House of Representatives members; the Senate has cleared the air on the controversial money.
The Senate said that reports by a section of the media that the National Assembly members “padded” the bill to favour were “spurious, inaccurate and irreverent misinterpretations.”
Politics Nigeria recalls President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on Thursday sought a review of the bill to enable him to deploy N500 billion for palliative measures and the balance of N319 billion on other Federal Government needs.
The Senate passed the bill the same day with the following as a breakdown of the N319 billion: N185 billion for rehabilitation of roads impacted by floods; N192 billion for fixing farmlands damaged by floods; N35 billion for National Judicial Commission(NJC); N10 billion for Federal Capital Territory projects and N70 billion for the National Assembly.
Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC – Ekiti South), clarified in a statement that the N70 billion was not meant for individual federal lawmakers but for the” facelift” of the National Assembly.
Adaramodu added that presently, some lawmakers bring their personal effects like “chairs and tables” to the makeshift chamber of the Assembly pending the completion of the undergoing renovation of offices in the edifice.
The lawmaker pointed out that the much-debated allocation will not be paid to any lawmaker as the National Assembly’s bureaucracy shall manage it.
“It’s pertinent to also note that the National Assembly complex does not house only the Legislators. There are thousands of workers and service providers, whose working environment needs a facelift, and/with necessary tools.
“Since the Assembly complex is not owned by legislators who are merely political birds of passage, such allocation cannot be termed by anyone as a palliative to the legislators.
“The alleged padding of the palliative budget by the National Assembly only exists in the minds of those who are all out to discredit the 10th Assembly. There is nothing like padding as being alleged,” he said.
