Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, Dino Melaye has said that the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) does not pay rent to the leadership of the National Assembly.
Senator Melaye made this statement to debunk the reports of some online media alleging the payment of rent to NASS.
In a statement issued by the senator on Thursday, he said that the story was published by Sahara Reporters and credited to a group called Citizen Action to Take Back Nigeria (CATBAN).
The report claimed that that the Senate President, Speaker and their deputies are using the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to collect some amount of money as rent for their accommodation.
“We want to state clearly that the four presiding officers of the National Assembly do not collect any money for rent, furniture and renovation from the FCDA or any federal government agency, for that matter.
“It should be noted that while Senators Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as well as Rt. Hons. Yakubu Dogara and Lasun Yusuff are entitled to well-furnished official accommodation by virtue of their positions,” he said.
He added however that the President of the Senate and the speaker both stayed in their private residences.
Melaye pointed out that even the N10 billion that was proposed in 2016 for the completion of the official residence of the principal officers was removed by the lawmakers to cut costs. “It should be noted that this same group, CATBAN, on January 3, 2017, held a press conference where it cleared Mr. Babachir David Lawal, Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), who had been indicted by the Senate.
“Therefore, we know where they are coming from. “We advise the sponsors of the group who are holding on to straws as they are drowning in the cesspool of their corrupt practices to always check their information very well as they got it wrong this time again,” he said.
