The Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, has declared that they (Senators) are planning on taking drastic action against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, for mistakenly disclosing that a ‘holiday allowance’ had been sent to senators’ bank accounts.
Before the Senate broke for its annual break on Monday, Akpabio had informed his colleagues that money had been delivered to “enjoy” their vacation.
The Senate President declared, “A token has been delivered to our various accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly to enable us all to enjoy our holidays.
“I take back what I said. The Senate President has sent prayers to your mailboxes so that you can enjoy your holiday and help you travel safely and return.
Nigerians criticized the senators for slumming it off the country’s coffers in response to Akpabio’s remark and called for their resignation.
Some legislators were obliged to concede that the amount provided to them as a leave allowance was merely N2m and not some ludicrously high sum as had previously been claimed due to the controversy.
Senator Ndume cited Akpabio’s public disclosure as the cause of the unjustified attacks on the lawmakers in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service.
“Any employee going on leave has a right to a leave grant, as is well known,” he stated. That was the payment we got, and it’s nothing out of the ordinary or noteworthy.
“N2 million was distributed to every senator. Due to the fact that he (Akpabio) is the root of this problem, I am saying this with a heavy heart.
The member for Borno South continued, “He gave the idea that we were given anything exceptional or a large sum of money. What’s the big issue if I receive a senator’s allowance of N2 million?
“He said something quite inappropriate, and I told him right away that his remarks were inappropriate for an elder.
In fact, if he continues to make unguarded remarks and treat us like children, we even plan to take extreme action against him.
From: PUNCH
Afeezoladiti (
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