NASS Aides beg Buhari to intervene in unpaid allowances

Legislative Aides of the 8th National Assembly have called on
President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the non-payment of their
allowances over the months.

National Assembly

In an open letter to the President, the Aides under the aegis of
Concerned Legislative Aides of the 8th National Assembly, begged Buhari
to direct a probe into the non payment of their allowances.

According to a statement jointly signed by Barr. Chinedu Nwokeukwu
and Mr Sunday Chuba the aides particularly urged that SunTrust Bank, the
micro-finance institution used in their payment be thoroughly probed.

They also sought that the Clerk to the National Assembly, Mohammed
Sani Omolori be made to proceed on his pre-retirement leave which he was
already due for.

The aides in a petition earlier sent to the Presidency, security
agencies and the anti-graft agencies, alleged among other things that
the leadership of the 8th National Assembly had connived to divert funds
meant for their payment.

In its new open letter to the President, the group pleaded that
Buhari should direct the anti-graft agencies to look into the
allegations of financial misappropriation contained in the petition.

According to the statement, the petition was duly copied to the
Office of the President, and also to the Vice President, Inspector
General of Police, Director General of State Security Service and
Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).

The statement said it is their utmost belief that there should be no
sacred cows in the act of ridding the country of the evil tentacles of
corruption in its ramification.

“We are reliably informed, Your Excellency that the Presiding
Officers of the 8th National Assembly are using the Clerk of the
National Assembly, Alhaji Sani Omolori to cover the alleged diversion of
our entitlements and allowances.

“The said clerk should have proceeded on pre-retirement leave on
November, 2018 having attained the mandatory 60 years and 35 years of
service.

“He was allegedly served a letter to that effect by the Office of Head of Service of the Federation.”

“There is scheme to add an additional five years to the tenure of the
clerk by adding a provision to the Report of the Conference Committee
on the Reviewed Conditions of Service in the National Assembly Service
before both chambers of the 8th National Assembly,” the group alleged.

It said such scheme if successful will extend the retirement age of
staff of National Assembly to either 65 years of age or 40 years of
service.

The statement further alleged that the scheming is geared towards covering the diversion of their entitlements.

The aides therefore called on President Buhari as the father of the
nation to look into their complaints dispassionately and ensure that the EFCC
conduct an excellent investigation.

“It may also interest Your Excellency to note the use of SunTrust
Bank – a bank with only two branches in Nigeria and the unbridled
employment of Special Assistants by Presiding Officers as tools used in
siphoning our legitimate allowances and entitlements.

“The shareholding of SunTrust Bank should be thoroughly investigated
while the exact numbers of special advisers, special assistants and
legislative aides of the presiding officers of the 8th National Assembly
examined for possibility of fake and ghost names,” the statement said.