- Akpabio said money has been sent to the accounts of all lawmakers to help them enjoy their break from legislative duties
- The Senate went on recess on Monday and is scheduled to reconvene on September 26th
Amid widespread hardship and suffering in the country, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio says senators have been sent money to spend while they’re on recess.
Akpabio said money has been sent to the accounts of all lawmakers to help them enjoy their break from legislative duties.
The Senate went on recess on Monday and is scheduled to reconvene on September 26th.
Before going on recess, Akpabio announced the chairman and vice chairman of all Senate committees.
He also confirmed 45 of the 48 ministerial nominees, leaving out three: former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufia, Stella Okotete of Delta State, and Abubakar Danladi of Taraba State.
In a now video that has gone viral, Akpabio was recorded saying that a “token” has been sent to the bank accounts of all senators.
“In order for all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our bank accounts by the clerk of the Senate,” he said.
The Senators, who were palpably taken aback and dissatisfied by Akpabio remarks, quickly shut him down.
Fearing that his disclosure will bring another barrage of backlash to him, Akpabio quickly recanted his comments with a feeble attempt at downplaying his gaffe by rephrasing the initial comment.
He then rephrased his statement saying, “In order to allow you to enjoy your holiday, the Senate president has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.”
The announcement of the money sent to lawmakers’ accounts comes as the citizens are bearing the brunt of the removal of fuel subsidy.
The Senate President has sent very Expensive prayers out of the insufficient blessings of over 200 Million people to himself and his already blessed colleagues at the National Assembly. pic.twitter.com/yoi8fvlsBU
— MrMacaroni (@mrmacaronii) August 9, 2023
This is not the first time Akpabio will be in the news for the wrong reason, he was the target of public opprobrium couple of weeks ago for his lack of discretion after a video of him taunting Nigerians over the hardship in the country went viral.
Similarly, he was also quoted to have demanded a raise in the salary of federal lawmakers despite strident calls for the slashing of their salaries.