Soludo Calls For Unity In Building Nigeria

 

Lawmakers vying for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives in the upcoming 10th National Assembly are allegedly bribing newly elected members with cash and accommodations.

The aspirants jostling to succeed Femi Gbajabiamila, the incumbent Speaker, include Ahmed Wase, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, Yusuf Gagdi, Aliyu Betara, Olaide Akinremi, Benjamin Kalu, Tajudeen Abbas, Abdulraheem Olawuyi, Sada Soli, and Sani Jaji.

 

With less than 90 members returning to the House, the new lawmakers are seen as valuable assets to those with ambitions for the position of Speaker.

 

A lawmaker who requested anonymity spoke about the ongoing campaign among top speakership aspirants in the country's upcoming 10th National Assembly. The lawmaker stated that aspirants are offering gifts to newly elected members, who outnumber the returning members by far, in a bid to secure their support. 

According to the lawmaker, the situation has become a competition among the aspirants, with each trying to outdo the other in terms of donations. "That is very true (gifts). They (aspirants) are meeting with the newly-elected members...All of us who are returning are not up to 90," the lawmaker said.

 

Naming the biggest spenders among the aspirants, the source disclosed that one of the contestants from the North-Central geopolitical zone gave the members-elect $200,000 (about N150m), while another aspirant from the North-West gave them N200m. 

 

“What happened was that he (the lawmaker from the North-West) is challenging the one from the North-East. The first one went there before him and gave them $200,000, which was converted to about N150m. So, when he came after, he also announced N200m. They are about to bastardise the system,” the lawmaker said.  

 

When asked about accommodation, including at Transcorp Hilton, the lawmaker also confirmed that new members have been lodged in various hotels in Abuja..

 

The lawmaker also disclosed that aspirants have booked various hotels in Abuja for new members, with almost all aspirants having one hotel or the other for first-timers. The Speaker election is expected to take place in June during the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.