POLITICS
Return Akpabio’s ‘Vacation Allowances’, Timi Frank Tells Senators, Reps
By Eze Okechukwu, Abuja
The former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank yesterday asked parliamentarians to urgently return the money they have illegally collected from the National Assembly as “enjoyment” and “vacation” allowances.
Frank noted that the primary role of the legislature was to make laws for the order, security and good governance of the country and not to plunder the country.
The former APC chieftain, who stated this in a statement in Abuja, wondered why the lawmakers have not deemed it necessary to review the nation’s minimum wage which will benefit the masses in the face of skyrocketing inflation but rather have resorted to helping themselves with funds from taxpayers’ money to catch vacation cruise.
He described the attitude of members of the 10th National Assembly as the worst ever to happen to the country, adding that they appear to be far removed from the harsh economic realities, inflicting and excruciating pains on the average Nigerian who elected them into office.
Akpabio had on Monday night told Senators that the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Magaji Tambawal, had sent a “token” (money) into their individual bank accounts to “enjoy” their annual “vacation.”
“I have been reliably informed that what Akpabio termed token is actually in millions of Naira, which belongs to taxpayers.
“According to a Senator from the Northwest geopolitical zone who confided in me, ‘each Senator received N35million, while principal officers got N50million each.’
“He equally told me that each House of Representatives member got N30million, while their principal officers received N45million each.
“The Senator said he has rejected his own largesse saying: ‘Allah will not forgive me if I collect such an amount for vacation enjoyment while my constituents are suffering hardships. I will spend my vacation with my constituents in the village. I am not traveling to any other place so I don’t need the money.’
“I know Akpabio and his cohorts will rush to deny this but let them do so with evidence by publishing their bank statements for Nigerians to verify for the sake of transparency. I also dare the Clerk to the National Assembly, Magaji Tambawal, to publish the vouchers with which he paid these slush funds into the accounts of legislators,” Frank said.
Frank who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East, however flayed Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo South) for claiming he only received N2million for vacation enjoyment even as he challenged him to publish his bank statement for Nigerians to confirm whether he told the truth or not.
He reiterated his call on President Bola Tinubu to prevail on the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio to resign his position for illegally and boldly distributing the nation’s commonwealth to legislators on national television and for painting the legislature as the most corrupt arm of government in the country.
He equally called on Nigerians to rise up and demand Akpabio’s resignation should the President or Akpabio’s colleagues fail to rise up to the occasion.
He lamented that while the Federal Government has been complaining of lean financial resources and begging Nigerians to be “patient” and “wait” for things to improve, Akpabio could afford to dole out money for enjoyment without any thought about workers who have been crying that their minimum wage should be increased.
“They cannot pay common living wage to Nigerian workers but Akpabio’s Freudian slip is a wake up call for Nigerians to urgently mobilize and take back their country, if the Nigeria Labour Congress fails to take action to protect and defend now impoverished Nigerian workers.
He called on the leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other affiliate unions to rise up and genuinely fight for a living wage for Nigerian workers.
“If Akpabio can fight for senators and Members of the House of Representatives to get so much for enjoyment, we expect the organized labour leadership to fight for improved salaries, wages and welfare packages for Nigerian workers devoid of the types of compromise associated with past workers agitations,” he said.
The Abia Chapter of the INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA) has warned its members to uphold the integrity of the commission and guard against the culture of manipulating election results.
The Abia Chairman of the association, Mr Collins Eze, gave the advice at the group’s general meeting and end-of-year party in Umuahia.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen on the sideline of the ceremony, Eze said that the staff members were adequately aware of their enormous responsibility and should ensure free, fair and credible elections.
He said: “We have also told our colleagues that anywhere they find themselves they should make sure that they do the needful by ensuring transparency in the conduct of elections.
“We have always told them not to allow anybody to induce them with money to manipulate election results.
“I’m happy that they have been building the capacity of our colleagues on election processes.
“So, in the coming years, we won’t have any problem in ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections.”
He said that the end-of-year party was special as it afforded them the opportunity “to wine and dine together as well as thank God for sustaining them in 2024”.
Eze said that his leadership had introduced various means of assisting members in dire financial needs by providing platforms to solicit suppory for them.
He expressed gratitude to members for their support and cooperation, describing them as the “secret behind the success of this administration”.
He said that 34 of at least 350 staff members of the commission in the state retired from service in 2024.
According to him, the development has placed a huge financial burden on the association, in terms of their welfare and entitlement as members.
Report says that each member received a carton of tomato paste as Christmas gift from the association. (NAN)
A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be thankful to God that its 16-year administration was not probed by the successive APC-led governments.Okechukwu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to a statement by PDP congratulating Ghanaians for the conduct of free, fair and transparent general elections.
Report says that PDP had, in a statement, said that the verdict of the people of Ghana in the presidential election was a signal to the APC that its days were numbered. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, had said in the statement that the power of the people in Nigeria, just like in Ghana, would ‘surely prevail and end the APC’s oppressive rule’.This, he said, would “return Nigeria to the path of good governance, security, political stability and economic prosperity on the platform of the PDP in 2027.”However, in his reactions to Ologunagba’s statement, Okechukwu said that the PDP clan should thank God that former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu, out of sheer statesmanship, had refused to probe ‘the 16 locus years of PDP administrations’.Okechukwu, a former Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), described the 16 years of PDP administrations as ones full of squandering and lack of plan.He said that Nigeria had yet to recover from the humongous culture of impunity and trust deficit planted by PDP on the Nigerian soil.Okechukwu said corruption was among the culture of impunity, saying it governed the privatisation of Nigeria’s electricity value chain, a key element in the country’s industrialisation drive.“Another is the blatant rigging of the 2007 general elections which the foremost beneficiary, President Umaru Yar’Adua, out of good conscience and noble magnanimity, publicly acknowledged the malfeasance which characterised his victory,” he said.Okechukwu also mentioned what he called conscienceless sale of the legislative and ministerial quarters, the annual rentage of which, he said, was bleeding the country’s treasury.“Another one is the neglect of $23 billion Greenfield Refinery, which could have saved over $70 billion expended on importation of refined petroleum products and which simulated the economic hardship of today,” he said.On why, for nine years, the APC administration could not fix those challenges, he recalled the efforts made by the Buhari administration to reopen talks on the Greenfield Refinery which, according to him, the Chinese regrettably rebuffed.The former VON director-general said that Nigerians were not in a hurry to forget the deliberate breach of the rotational convention of president from the north to the south.He said that the country could not also forget the utter disregard for Section 7 of the PDP’s constitution which expressly mandated zoning.Okechukwu advised the PDP not to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians by assuming that citizens would easily forget how they were put in the harms way.He said that PDP should thank God that Buhari and Tinubu did not want to probe them, adding “that’s why Nigerians cannot decipher the difference between the two political parties.” (NAN)
Sen. Ned Nwoko (PDP-Delta) says that Local Government Administration is central to democracy in Nigeria as it ensures grassroots governance and service delivery at the local level.This is contained in a statement signed by Dr Michael Nwoko, the Chief of Staff to the lawmaker in Abuja on Monday.Nwoko said this on the occasion of the presentation of an award “Icon of Hope” to him by the Association of Local Government Vice Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGOVC).
He was represented by his Chief of Staff. He said that the importance of local government administration in the country could not be overemphasised, as it was the bedrock of democracy.According to him, local governments in Nigeria play key roles in the country’s democracy by promoting participatory democracy, providing services, and representing citizens.“Local Governments help determine local needs and how to meet them. They also act as a link between the centre, state, and local people.“They are created to decentralise power and bring the government closer to the people. They perform both mandatory and concurrent functions.“It is in view of this that I took it upon myself to enhance the viability of local governments through the Paris and London club loan refunds,”he said.Dr Folashade Olabanji-Oba, ALGOVC National Chairman, while presenting the award at its 7th Annual National Conference, said the award was in recognition of the lawmaker’s significant contributions to strengthening local government administration.She highlighted Nwoko’s critical role in ensuring the Paris and London Club loan refunds, a financial breakthrough she said enhanced the capacity of local governments nationwide.(NAN)
NDA Commandant Decorates Ombugadu, Others as Fellows of Solar Energy Society of Nigeria
ShareFrom Abel Zwànke, Lafia The 2023 gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State, His Excellency Rt....
Yuletide: Bode George Urges Tinubu to Reduce Petrol Price
ShareChief Bode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has urged President Bola Tinubu to...
Tinubu Set for Groundbreaking of Renewed Hope City in Lagos
Share President Bola Tinubu, is set to perform the groundbreaking of 2,000 housing units of the Renewed Hope City in...
Gov. Alia Presents N550.1bn as 2025 Budget Estimate to Benue Assembly
ShareGov. Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday presented the sum of N550.1bn as the 2025 appropriation bill to the Benue State House...
Tax Bills: NASS will not Betray the Trust of Nigerians, says Akpabio
Share The President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, says the National Assembly will prioritise the interest of all Nigerians...
Alia Has Demonstrated Capacity, Courage to Entrench Good Governance—Speaker
Share The Speaker, Benue Assembly, Mr Hyacinth Dajo, has said that Gov. Hyacinth Alia has so far demonstrated capacity, courage,...
Investors Gain N183bn on NGX
Share The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) continued its bullish trend on Wednesday, gaining N183 billion. Accordingly, the market capitalisation, which...
Energy, Solid Minerals Top Priority, Tinubu Tells German Businessmen
Share President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, assured the German government and businessmen of Nigeria’s preparedness to expand frontiers for investors...
Nigerian Who Wrote WASSCE 17 Times Bags Distinction from London School
Share Dr Emmanuel Ahmadu, a Nigerian who wrote the West Africa School Senior Certificate Education 17 times, has earned a...
INEC Staff Welfare Association Warns Members Against Manipulating Election Results
Share The Abia Chapter of the INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA) has warned its members to uphold the integrity of...