FACTS emerged on Sunday on how members of the National Assembly struck a deal with President Bola Tinubu to distribute grains to 109 senatorial districts and 360 federal constituencies across the country.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that though the Federal Ministry of Agriculture gave offer letters to contractors to supply the grains, it has neither finalised the agreement nor paid money to the contractors up till date.
Coming under pressure from their constituents, some senators went for the option of raising funds for the contractors to start supplying, pending when the government would conclude the bidding and due process checks with them.
A key member of the Senate, Senator Karimi Sunday, who spoke exclusively with Nigerian Tribune, said the whole idea started when members of the 10th National Assembly protested to Tinubu over how the previous administration used state governments in distributing palliatives without inputs from senators and members of the House, “the real representatives of the people who are very close to them.”
According to Sunday, who represents Kogi West senatorial district, the discussions started in October 2023.
He explained that in his response, Tinubu promised to do the distribution through the lawmakers at N200 million per senator and N100 million per member of the House.
However, Sunday stated that this was to be handled by the ministry of agriculture and not through direct handing of cash to lawmakers.
But, he said in spite of the contractors being given the letters of award, none of them had been paid “a kobo.”
He went further: “They asked us to bring contractors who would bid for the job through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, to follow due process.
“As I am talking to you, the contractors have been given letters of award, but no contractor has received a (kobo) from the ministry yet.
“In any case, that money will not be paid to us senators directly. But, some of us, wanting to make sure that those things were supplied before the Yuletide, went and worked with our contractors to supply the grains to our people.
“For instance, (in my case), in Kogi West, they have supplied rice to my people, even far more than that amount, after I made personal commitments.”
Sunday further explained that this was not the case with other colleagues of his who did not take the type of risk he took just to get the grains to his people before Christmas.
He added: “But, some of my colleagues did not do what I did, because if you have been promising since October and nothing has happened, they would not be encouraged to source for money to work with their contractors to supply the grains.
“So, all this noise going around, no senator, no House member has received a (kobo). But, some have made commitments, I must tell you that. They gave the contractors their personal money to start supplying before Christmas.
“So, it’s a lie to say senators or House members have already collected money to supply grains. No (kobo), I repeat, no (kobo) has been given.”
Disquiet at NASS
Members of The National Assembly are complaining in hushed tones over the hysteria trailing the narrative of the President Tinubu administration’s funding of social palliatives in senatorial districts and federal constituencies to mitigate the effect of economic challenges facing Nigerians.
According to reports, grains worth N200 million will be distributed by senators in their constituents while their counterparts in the House of Representatives will get N100 million to distribute bags of rice and other grains in their various constituents.
Some federal lawmakers who spoke with Nigerian Tribune in confidence denied receiving any fund from the Federal Government to procure and distribute grains as palliatives.
According to one of them, they were only mandated to liaise with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, which would ultimately take charge of procurement of the grains.
He said: “As I speak with you, I haven’t received a grain of rice. What I distributed to my people during the festive period was sourced from my pocket, not from the Federal Government.”
Asked why both chambers of parliament have not taken a position to refute the narrative in the media space, the lawmakers said the National Assembly had been deliberately silent as joining issue with the Presidency could be taken as an affront by the party’s national secretariat.
PDP tackles Kwara NASS members
Stakeholders in Kwara State have frowned on either silence or inaction by some of the nine members of the National Assembly on the raging controversy over the planned Tinubu palliatives.
The development has made the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to demand explanation from the legislators to clear the air on the matter.
The PDP, in a statement by its state publicity secretary, Olusegun Olusola Adewara, said such clarification was necessary due to insinuations of diversion of the items.
The opposition party highlighted a viral video featuring one Honourable Dekeri Anamero, House of Representatives member representing Etsako federal constituency of Edo State, where he claimed that President Tinubu provided each National Assembly member with at least two trailers of rice for distribution in their various constituencies.
The PDP, in reaction to the said video queried all the National Assembly members from Kwara State and called them to speak up on the raging controversy, saying it would be a shock of the century if the insinuation that all of them secretly sold the rice to commercial dealers in Abuja thinking nobody will be aware at home.
“The concerned legislators who are all APC members include: Senator Salihu Mustapha of Kwara Central, Oyelola Ashiru of Kwara South, and Senator Suleiman Sadiq Umar of Kwara North.
“Also, members of the lower chamber include Raheem Tunji Olawuyi Ajuloopin, Ismail Kayode Tijani, Ahmed Yinka Aluko, Tolani Shagaya, Adam Ahmed Saba, and Mohammed Omar Bio, respectively.
“The PDP in Kwara State, having patiently awaited responses from these affected APC legislators, noted with concern their continued silence which is no longer golden.
“Their unfortunate silence raises suspicions of compromise, suggesting that the allocated rice intended for the people of Kwara State may have been diverted and sold to commercial rice dealers in Abuja for their personal gain.
“Based on the video made by Honourable Dekeri, each legislator is said to have received a minimum of 2,400 bags of rice. Given the current market price of N54,000 per 50kg bag, this implies that each Kwara State legislator may have secretly pocketed N130 million while the nine of them have pocketed about N1.2 billion. Should this allegation turn out to be true, it will be an unfortunate betrayal of public trust.
“Amidst the hardships the people are made to experience under APC governance, it is disheartening that items intended to alleviate such challenges are allegedly converted to monetary gains by those entrusted with the people’s mandate.”
The Kwara PDP called for immediate explanations from the legislators and demanded transparency.
However, a statement by the senator representing Kwara Central district, Mallam Saliu Mustapha, through his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Suleiman Tunji Buhari, said that Senator Mustapha rolled out palliatives to complement efforts of the Kwara State government in reducing hardship amongst residents of the state, “as part of measures to cushion the hardship occasioned by the removal of subsidy from fuel.”
The senator’s aide, however, noted that Senator Mustapha had approved the procurement and distribution of over 2,000 application forms of JAMB, WAEC and NECO for orphans and the indigents preparatory to further grant of scholarships to the best performing students among them.
Meanwhile, some other representatives and senators contacted on the development could not respond as of time of filing this report.
Lawmaker distributes 3,000 bags to constituents in Niger
The House of Representatives member representing Bosso/Paikoro federal constituency of Niger State, Honourable Yusuf Kure Baraje, has distributed 3,000 bags of rice to constituents as part of efforts to cushion the economic hardship among the people.
Baraje, speaking during the presentation of the items in Minna, said the rice was packaged in 20kg bags and estimated at over N50 million.
Baraje, who was represented at the occasion by his senior legislative aide, Malam Lawal Aliyu Maiyaki, said the target was to reach to the underprivileged in the constituency during the festive period.
“A lot of people are captured in the distribution template such as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger State chapter, imams in Bosso and Paikoro, APC party executives, widows and youths, among others.
“This is a festive period, we want to ensure that everybody celebrates the Christmas and New Year very well,” he said.
Kano lawmakers commence distribution
Some residents of Kano State have confirmed receipt of palliatives from their lawmakers, but most of them could not confirm if the items came from the Federal Government.
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, a resident of Fagge Local Government Area, Alhaji Ibrahim Gwarzo, confirmed that he had received rice, millet and other items from the lawmaker representing his constituency.
He added that the lawmaker had carried out the first and second phases of the distribution, noting that the lawmaker had collected names of people in the local government area as beneficiaries.
A resident of Brigade in Nasarawa federal constituency, Baba Ahmed, said “the lawmaker distributed motorcycles and grinding machines about two weeks ago. But I am not sure of foodstuffs.”
Okada riders get free fuel as palliative in Taraba
In Taraba State, findings showed that only Honourable Mark Useni, the House of Representatives member representing Ussa, Takum and Donga federal constituency, distributed rice and iPad to some constituents, while Senator David Jimkuta representing the Southern District of Taraba, paid a total of N20 million to few selected fuel stations across the zone for motorcycle riders as Christmas largesse.
According to findings, both lawmakers claimed that the gesture was from their personal earnings.
Zamfara senators distribute palliatives
Senator Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar representing Zamfara West senatorial district distributed palliatives to more than 168,000 households in the state.
The former governor of the state said the gesture was meant to cushion the hardship of people in the state.
The chairman, publicity committee on the distribution of palliatives, Honourable Ibrahim Muhammad Birnin Magaji, said under the arrangement, 12,000 households benefitted from each of the 14 local government areas of the state.
Ondo NASS members deny receiving rice allocation
The National Assembly lawmakers in Ondo State have denied receiving rice allocation meant for the people of their constituency, describing the information being circulated as spurious and misleading.
One of the lawmakers, Honourable Festus Akingbaso, representing the Idanre/ Ifedore federal constituency of Ondo State, denied receiving rice from the Federal Government for his constituents during the Yuletide.
He said the rice distributed to the people of the two local governments he is representing during the period was bought personally by him.
Akingbaso, however, said the Federal Government promised to send two trucks of rice worth N100 million to the people of the constituency but denied receiving such a package.
Speaking during a town hall meeting in Idanre, Akingbaso said the rice he shared with the two local governments that made up his federal constituency during the Christmas and New Year celebration was from his earnings as a lawmaker.
He said, “We’ve not received any food items as palliatives. Although the Federal Government promised to send the palliatives to members of the National Assembly, we’re yet to receive the food items.
“I have not received any food items from the Federal Government. The rice I distributed to my people across my constituency was funded personally by me.
“If we receive the promised food items from government, we’ll definitely distribute to our constituents. I have not received any food items from the Federal Government, maybe when they give us, I will tell you.”
One of the aides of a senator in the state who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said his principal had not received any bag of rice.
He confirmed that the Federal Government promised the federal lawmakers trailers of rice, but that no lawmaker in the state had taken delivery of the rice.
He said “I can categorically state that not one bag of rice has been given to us by the Federal Government for the purpose of distribution to our constituency.
“The Federal Government made a pledge for the provision of rice palliatives and solar lights for the development of our areas. However, as of today, this has not been concluded by the ministry responsible for the same.”
Also speaking in Akure, the senator representing Ondo Central, Niyi Adegbonmire, said no food item, including Christmas rice, was distributed to them by the Federal Government for onward distribution to their constituents.
A cross section of those interviewed in the state said they had been waiting for the distribution of the rice but expressed disappointment over what they called empty promise.
A civil servant, Ayo Adesegun, said “our representative has personally purchased bags of rice distributed for the people. We see it as a mere political statement, we have received nothing.
Ekiti federal lawmakers keep mum
National Assembly members from Ekiti State palliatives items, especially rice.
Investigations by Nigerian Tribune revealed that while the three senators and the six House of Representatives members distributed some bags of rice to their constituents during the Yuletide, it was however not clear the source of those items.
The lawmakers did not disclose whether the ones distributed to the people were procured through their personal resources or from the Federal Government.
On his part, a member representing Oye/Ikole federal constituency of the state, Akin Rotimi Jnr who distributed about 3,000 bags of rice to his constituents said they were from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
Rotimi who is the spokesman of the House of Representatives, however, added that no member of the House was given money for the palliative items and that the release of the food items was being done in batches.
The lawmaker said, “The procurement process is at different stages depending on the constituency; but to be clear, no legislator has, nor will be given any money for palliatives.
“We must further clarify that the timing of the distribution is not in the hands of any honourable member. The entire process is under the control of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
“Some constituencies have received theirs, while others are yet being processed. We call for patience, as no constituency will be left behind.”
Ogun federal lawmakers funded palliative to constituents
Many of the National Assembly members in Ogun State spent their personal money to finance the food items they distributed to their constituents, investigation conducted by the Nigerian Tribune revealed.
Speaking with our correspondents in a telephone interview on Sunday, a member of the House of Representatives representing Yewa North/Imeko Afon, Honourable Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, submitted that no lawmaker had received any grain from the Federal Government.
He, however, affirmed that the Federal Government indeed had a plan of giving out some quantity of rice to them for distribution to their constituents for the Yuletide.
“Nobody has been given a single grain of anything. There was a promise that they (FG) are going to do it through the Ministry of Agriculture. They have been working on it since October, so when December came and people did not get anything, some people went ahead to arrange things on their own.
“Some people might have shared grains with their constituents in anticipation that the promise would still come in. I can say categorically that nobody has collected anything,” said Isiaka.
One of the aides to Senator Shuaib Salis representing Ogun Central, who did not want his name in print, confirmed that the lawmaker shared food items to his constituents and other members of the society with personal money.
Senator Solomon Adeola was equally reported to have distributed rice among his constituents, market men and women, artisans, political supporters from his personal purse as well..
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