The House of Representatives has reacted to the report that N1 million was forcefully deducted from the allowances of members to support the election of the then candidate of the All Progressives Congress and winner of the Edo State governorship election, Monday Okpebholo.
The Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, revealed the position when he spoke with newsmen.
The News Agency of Nigeria is reporting that the alleged forceful deduction was to support Okpebholo and his then running mate, Dennis Idahosa, who is a member of the House of Representatives.
Agbese, however, said that the lawmakers donated freely to the campaign funds of the governor-elect.
NAN reports that the House supported the Edo State chapter of the APC with N200 million towards the governorship election, which the party won.
Agbese said that the decision to support Okpebholo and Idahosa was voluntarily taken at a meeting attended by the APC lawmakers.
He said: “The newspaper report is not correct.
“The Senate had taken a decision to support the then governorship candidate, now governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
“We also deemed it fit to support the ticket because the then running mate and now deputy governor-elect, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, is one of us.
“Nobody was compelled to give, contrary to the report.
“The speaker was not even at the meeting.
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“So, the claim that he (speaker) unilaterally ordered deductions from lawmakers’ allowances without their knowledge is way off the mark.”
According to Agbese, if indeed the lawmakers were not happy or were forced to give, they would have protested the moment it was first reported that the APC House caucus was making a donation to the campaign funds.
He added: “The collective resolve of the House majority caucus to support the cause was what led to the emergence of a chairman who headed the fund raising committee.
“We had a quorum at the meeting and the Deputy Speaker, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, emerged the Chairman of the Fund Raising Committee.
“I have gone this far to let Nigerians know that everything was done with orderliness.”
Agbese called on newsmen to always be sure of their facts before publication, adding that journalism, at all times, must be separated from speculation.
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