Some members of the House of Representatives, known as Concerned Members, have alleged that there is no transparency in the budget of the Green Chamber under the leadership of the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, as all expenditure are shrouded in secrecy.
Suspended former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, had accused Dogara of diverting fund meant for running of the Green Chamber.
The Concerned Members in an advertorial placed in national newspapers on Tuesday took Jibrin’s allegations further.
They lamented that the Green Chamber that ought to be the vanguard for transparency in the country has seen the reverse being the case under Dogara.
The lawmakers, under the banner of Concerned Members of the House of Representatives, said: “In this period when Nigerians are yearning for change and better governance, we believe that the House under the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, should be at the vanguard of the drive for transparency in the country, but is this the situation now?
“We have observed so far that the answer is a big no, as we have seen in the House that most expenditures under the leadership of Dogara are shrouded in mystery.”
The concerned lawmakers claimed that majority of the legislators are ignorant of running in the house.
“Members do not receive the House of Representatives internal budget from the Speaker for their consideration and approval,” the legislators said.
They added: “Members are also not briefed on the amount utilised for the administration of the house; like what is spent on facility maintenance, the number and the remuneration of SAs (Special Advisers)/SSAs (Senior Special Assistants), whereas members are also aware of the number of SAs/SSAs of the president when he presents their number of approval.
“Committee utility vehicles are only provided to a select few, while we know that at the beginning of this 8th house, the leadership had set aside N1.2bn towards the purchase of these vehicles and the same was provided for in 2016. Please where is the N2.4bn?
“Funding for committee assignments like public hearing is epileptic and haphazard.”
They also alleged that some standing committees were sidelined in favour of ad hoc committees.
Since the inception of eighth House of Representatives, Dogara has not made the budget details of the House of Representatives public despite demands by concerned Nigerians.
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