Prominent Nigerians have expressed
their dissatisfaction with reports that the principal officers of the
National Assembly rejected the official quarters built for them by the
Federal Capital Development Authority, describing the project as a waste
of money and another means of encouraging corruption.
This came as the principal members of the National Assembly denied ever rejecting any house.
The Minister of the Federal Capital
Territory, Bala Mohammed, had at a news conference in Abuja last
weekend, stated that the Senate President, David Mark, Speaker, House
of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and their deputies, along with some
other principal officers, had rejected the N3bn official quarters being
built for them in Abuja.
Continue after the cut...
Bala had cited insecurity and delay in
‘provision of infrastructure as reasons for the rejection of the
official residential buildings. But the National Assembly claimed that
the decision to abandon the buildings was that of the FCTA and not that
of the presiding officers of the National Assembly.
However, notable Nigerians on Thursday
condemned both the decision to build houses for the principal officers
and the rejection by the principal officers. They claimed the
development was iniquitous as it encouraged corruption.
A former President of the Academic Staff
Union of Universities, Prof. Festus Iyayi, said it was illogical for
the government to build another set of houses for the affected officers
of the Federal legislature only to sell to them again after the end of
their tenure.
Iyayi, who was also a former President
of the Association of Nigerian Authors, recalled that the official
quarters of the affected officers were sold to some of them in line with
the government’s policy on monetisation.
Culled - Punch
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