NAC Urges Probe Into Lawmakers’ ‘ N500m’ Grant

Speaker House of Reps. Hon Dimeji Bankole (left) conferring with the Governor of Delta State, Dr Emmanuel Oduaghan at the 26th convocation ceremony of the University of Port Harcourt, last Saturday.

The National Action Council (NAC) on Thursday charged the anti-graft agencies to investigate the N500 million constituency allocation to members of the National Assembly.

In a statement obtained in Lagos, NAC Chairman Dr Olapade Agoro said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Indpendent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) should set a machinery in motion to investigate how those allocations were spent.

“This is in line with Section 251 (p) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowering citizens to query the administration or management and control of the Federal Government or any of its agencies.

“There is need for the EFCC and the ICPC to achieve greater success fighting corruption by also unraveling the reckless corruption at the National Assembly in the midst of abject poverty in Nigeria,’’ he stated.

Agoro contended that at a time when an average Nigerian remained jobless and the crime wave was consequently high, it was ungodly for one single man to collect such an amount as allowances.

Agoro argued that there was the need for anti-corruption agencies to sustain the laudable successes they have so far recorded by going after the lawmakers.

According to him, Nigerians have a right to know how and if actually these monies were spent on their constituencies or were diverted.

He urged the anti-corruption agencies to compel the lawmakers to make available their claims on expenditure regarding the constituency allowances and investigate such claims.

“There is also need to make public the finding on every claim on how the constituency allowances were spent’’ he added.

The NAC chairman, however, challenged the lawmakers to open up and face the nation with facts on their spending in their various constituencies.

However, a source close to the National Assembly said that a N500 million constituency allowance per member “is not correct; it is grossly exaggerated”.