The House of Representatives has debunked allegations that it received 15 million dollars from the executive to approve the request of President Muhammadu Buhari to restructure the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means Advances taken from the Central Bank of Nigeria. This was contained in a statement signed by the Chairman House of Representatives, Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, who also doubles as the House Spokesperson, on Friday in Abuja, described the allegations as “not only false, but also baseless and unfounded”.
Kalu therefore, implores the media to exercise restraint and desist from disseminating unfounded allegations that have the potential to tarnish the reputation of public institutions and individuals, particularly during this critical period when lawmakers are deeply engrossed in the political competition for the leadership positions in the impending 10th National Assembly. He added that, the insinuations and attacks against the person of the Speaker goes to naught as he remains the most forthright, upstanding, and most loved Speaker in our parliamentary history. Any attempt by one or two to plant malicious stories for the unsuspecting public is futile.
According to him, “As elected representatives, our decisions and actions are taken in the public interest. It should be recalled that the house had temporarily deferred the approval of the executive’s request following recommendations of the relevant committees of the House, which called for further engagement with the executive in order to facilitate a comprehensive and meticulous analysis and deliberation on public interventions the executive earmarked the said request for”.
