One of the eight senators of Labour Party in the red chamber, Ireti Kingibe, has feigned ignorance of the meaning of “enjoyment” allowance which Senate President Godswill Akpabio said was sent to senators.
Before the Senate adjourned for annual recess on Monday, Akpabio told his colleagues that “a token” had been sent to them to “enjoy” their holiday.
The number three citizen obviously forgot that the proceeding was being captured on live camera.
The Senate President had said: “In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly.”
Akpabio under fire over comment on senators’ ‘holiday enjoyment’ allowance
Upon realizing that he was speaking on live television, he quickly retracted, and said, “I withdraw that statement. In order to allow you to enjoy your holiday, the senate president has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.”
Speaking when she featured on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Ireti Kingibe, who represents the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said: “I did not receive any prayer but I will check my emails for the prayers. Truthfully, I don’t know what he was talking about.
“Most people assume that our allowances are being paid; some statutory things that we are paid. I don’t think it was anything extra that we’re supposed to be given. I certainly haven’t seen anything extra.”
On the high cost of governance as it relates to senators’ allowances, she said there is nothing she can do about it.
“Yes, truthfully, that is so. I know that I can’t change anything. So I have a constituency office and a development office where I do development programmes for the people.
“Hopefully, anything extra… I’m new and we’ve been paid very little. But as they come in, a lot of it will go towards funding that office, the development programmes.”
She also called for government officials to be mandated to use only vehicles assembled in Nigeria.
Asked what she would do differently as the senator representing the FCT she said, “I would insist that all government vehicles must have been assembled in Nigeria. That would go a long way to improving productivity in Nigeria.
“For one thing, Innoson, perhaps Volkswagen and Peugeot, and maybe even Toyota might decide that it’s worth their while to set up an assembly plant here.”
Kingibe who also noted that certain commodities such as tinned tomatoes should not be imported, stated that cutting down on importation would cause the dollar to fall and help grow the economy.
Also reacting to the criticisms directed at her and other members of the Labour Party for not speaking out more during the recent screening of ministerial nominees, the FCT senator said;
“Whenever people talk about us Labour senators, they’re only eight of us. And in a democracy, the minority will have their say, and at the end of the day, the majority will have their way.”
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