Allegations of trade-offs between lawmakers and the executive
There were also allegations that lawmakers might have struck a deal with the executive branch to secure approval for the emergency rule declaration. Several online platforms reported financial inducements to lawmakers, with some claiming payments of up to $25,000 per lawmaker, while others reported figures of $10,000 or $5,000 depending on their ranking. However, the […]
National Assembly
There were also allegations that lawmakers might have struck a deal with the executive branch to secure approval for the emergency rule declaration.
Several online platforms reported financial inducements to lawmakers, with some claiming payments of up to $25,000 per lawmaker, while others reported figures of $10,000 or $5,000 depending on their ranking.
However, the deputy spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese (APC, Benue), dismissed the allegations, insisting that the decision was based on the “doctrine of necessity” aimed at restoring peace in Rivers State.
“The president cannot buy the parliament. No one needed to be induced for us to do what was necessary,” Agbese said.
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“It’s high time Nigerians understood that we have buried our sentiments and now wear the toga of patriotism. This was not about monetary inducement,” he added.
Similarly, Ja’afar Ja’afar, the publisher of Daily Nigerian, said that the chairman of the House Committee on FCT, Mukhtar Aliyu Betara, who was alleged to have been the conduit for the financial inducement, clarified to him “that he only shared $5,000 to each member of his committee as “Sallah Gesture” not an inducement to support emergency rule in Rivers State.”
This was in response to an earlier Facebook post by Ja’afar where he alleged that: “A disturbing aspect of the ratification of the emergency rule in Rivers State by the NASS is that members of the House of Reps mortgaged their conscience for a pittance.
“Three members of the House of Reps confirmed to me that those who voted got $5,000 each – not even the reported $25,000. Instructively, the greenback envelops were allegedly brought by the chairman of the House Committee on FCT, Mukhtar Aliyu Betara.”