The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has apologised to the state governors over his touch upon the N30bn hardship allowance allegedly given to them.
Akpabio had, at a plenary sitting final Tuesday, throughout deliberation on the Ways and Means collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria by the earlier administration, stated an “unverified report” indicated that state governors acquired N30bn every from the Federation Account to cushion the impact of inflation and the excessive price of meals costs.
Last September, the Federal Government stated N2bn was launched to governors out of the N5bn mortgage it supplied to every state as a palliative to cushion the impact of the elimination of gas subsidy.
In response to the Senate President, some governors, like Seyi Makinde of Oyo State refuted the declare.
Makinde stated, “This shouldn’t be the time to play politics, as we’ve got actual points that deserve actual options. But yesterday, I noticed the video and skim within the information the place the Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, made a assertion, although he stated it was an unverified report, stating that the state governments acquired a further N30bn from the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, outdoors of our statutory allocation, in the previous few months, to deal with meals safety.
“Please, listen to me loud and clear. I can speak for Oyo State and can also speak for any of my colleagues. This is because, as the Vice Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, I know when things are happening.”
Apologising to the governor on Monday night, Akpabio in a assertion by his media adviser, Eseme Eyiboh, stated he held the governors in excessive esteem.
He stated, “The Office of the President of the Senate has been drawn to numerous misconceptions within the public area on the assertion credited to the President of the Senate within the plenary of Wednesday, February 21, 2024, throughout the presentation of a report of the joint Committees on Finance, Agriculture/Food Sufficiency, Banking and Insurance.
“During the session, the President of the Senate commented on the cost of an unverified cumulative sum of about N30bn to the sub-national governments by the Federal Government for numerous interventions to ameliorate the meals scenario of our residents on the sub-national governments.
“The unlucky conjectures to take away the kernel within the materials information of FAAC cost are slightly regretted. In contemplating the well-intended motive of urging state governments to collaborate with the Federal authorities of President Bola Tinubu to facilitate strategic interventions to mitigate the prevailing financial scenario within the nation stays the underpinning motivation within the remark.
“The President of the Senate is not oblivious to the fact that state governments are functional partners in all the efforts of the current administration of President Bola Tinubu and are also valuable stakeholders’ in the various legislative engagements of the legislature in creating the nexus between the legislature and the people.”
Eyiboh added that Akpabio has at all times demonstrated dedication to staff constructing and shall not do much less within the circumstance.
He, due to this fact, urged the sub-national governments not to be distracted by any misunderstanding of the context and true which means of the assertion.
He added, “The President of the Senate recognises and appreciates the current efforts of the governors at ameliorating the adverse effects of the current inclement socio-economic environment and therefore invites more hands on the plow to complement the renewed hope agenda.”
