Presidency clarifies claims of Tinubu’s Christmas package to fed lawmakers
The presidency has clarified President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s Christmas package for federal lawmakers to distribute to their constituents ahead of the festive season.
Millions of naira worth of palliatives were to be given to National Assembly, or NASS, members by President Tinubu, who then instructed them to distribute them to their constituents.
According to the report, the President gave palliatives worth N200 million and N100 million respectively to Senators and members of the lower arm of NASS.
For the past week, there have been disagreements on who gets to distribute the purported palliatives. Several Nigerians have expressed dissatisfaction about their federal lawmakers alleged hoarding of the package and have stated that they have not yet received any money from them.
Since then, some senators have refuted reports that they have all begun receiving the Federal Government’s palliative supplies for their constituents in response to the scandals.
Dada Olusegun, President Bola Tinubu’s special assistant, clarified in a statement posted on social media on Sunday through his X account that the package was authorised by the President through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to send rice and other food items only as palliatives and not in cash.
Therefore, he said that logistical problems could be the primary reason for the distribution’s delay and that the palliatives could only be given out once the federal parliamentarians had received them.
Read full statement below
Clarification on the distributed NASS palliatives by the Presidency during the festive period:
– President Tinubu did not give cash to the National Assembly members as palliatives to the people in the constituencies and senatorial districts.
– The President through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security only distributed rice and other food items as palliatives and sort of Constituency Projects worth N100million per Federal Constituency and N200million per Senatorial Constituency.
– The NASS members who are considered to be closest to ordinary Nigerians people in all parts of the country.
– The emanating insinuations from some Nigerians out there suggesting that some National Assembly members are hoarding the palliatives is grossly misleading because they can only distribute when they have received it, and this is due to logistic reasons behind the distribution process.
Again, President Tinubu approved the distribution of trailers’ load of food materials to National Assembly members, but it was not done in cash. It was food items sourced through the Ministry of Agriculture.
