Palliatives for lawmakers: We didn't pad supplementary budget -Senators

The 10th Senate has denied reports that it padded the supplementary budget, which was signed into law last week.

The upper legislative chamber was responding to reports the executive padded the supplementary budget with N70 billion as a “gift” to them.

Sen. Yemi Adaramodu, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, expressed his curiosity about how the reports came to be in a statement released on Sunday and provided to news media in Abuja. He claimed that lawmakers alone are responsible for passing laws and do not require gifts from the executive branch of government to carry out their duties.

According to the statement, among other national demands, the Supplementary Appropriations Act’s passage was necessary to fund the Federal Government’s Palliative for the Nigerian people.

“Suffice to say that the passage is part of the absolute constitutional duty of the Senate.We would therefore, not wish to join issues with the mischief and misrepresentation that a portion of the just passed Amendment Act that appropriated N70 billion was a ‘gift’ to the Legislators,” the statement read

Senator Adaramodu emphasized that “a visit to the suites, offices and the general structures of the National Assembly complex would reveal a yearning and the need for exigent attention. Many Senators had to bring their chairs, tables and electronics and in many cases, do sundry repairs.

“The much debated allocation will not be paid to any legislator. This will be managed by the National Assembly Bureaucracy. It’s pertinent to also note that the National Assembly complex does not house only the Legislators. There are thousands of workers and service providers, whose working environments need a facelift and/or the necessary tools. Since the Assembly Complex is not owned by legislators who are merely political birds of passage, such an allocation cannot be termed by anyone as a palliative to the legislators.The alleged padding of the palliative budget by the national assembly only exists in the minds of those who are all out to discredit the 10th Assembly. There is nothing like padding, as alleged by some misinformed media outfits.We wish to urge fellow compatriots to see the national assembly as partners in the progress of Nigeria,” the statement added.