October 07, (THEWILL) – Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House of Representatives have refuted reports that lawmakers elected on the platform of the party were coerced into parting with money in support of Monday Okpebholo’s governorship ambition in Edo State.
The House Deputy Spokesperson, Philip Agbese, made the clarification on Monday.
Recall that the Edo Governor-elect, Okpebholo and Deputy Governor-elect, Dennis Idahosa, are both members of the current 10th National Assembly. While Okpebholo represents Edo Central in the Senate, Idahosa represents Ovia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
In a report titled “Edo Governorship: APC Reps Fume Over N1m Salary Deductions For Okpebholo”, Leadership alleged that N1 million was deducted from each APC lawmaker’s allowances without their consent in support of Okpebholo and Idahosa.
The House of Representatives supported Edo APC with the sum of N200 million toward the governorship election.
Speaking on Monday, in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Agbese said the lawmakers donated freely to the campaign funds.
“The newspaper report is not correct. The Senate had taken a decision to support the then-governorship candidate, now Governor-elect, Sen. Monday Okpebholo. We also deem it fit to support the ticket because the then-running mate and now Deputy Governor-elect, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, is one of us. Nobody was compelled to give, contrary to the report. The Speaker was not even at the meeting.
“So, the claim that he (Speaker) unilaterally ordered deductions from lawmakers’ allowances without their knowledge is way off the mark. The collective resolve of the House majority caucus to support the cause was what led to the emergence of a chairman who headed the fundraising committee.
“We had a quorum at the meeting and the Deputy Speaker, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, emerged the Chairman of the Fund Raising Committee. I have gone this far to let Nigerians know that everything was done with orderliness,” he said, while urging newsmen to be sure of their facts before publication.
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