….Insist on release of N35.8bn Amnesty fund

ABUJA — THE House of Representatives, yesterday, was sharply divided during its executive session over the purchase of Prado LandCruiser Jeeps for oversight functions of its members.

It also mandated its leadership to liaise with the executive to ensure that additional N35. 824 billion was made available to the amnesty programme for the reformation of militants in Niger Delta.

The House equally lamented that Nigeria loses about N2 trillion annually in capital flight to foreign countries due to the inability of indigenous ship owners to participate in lifting cargoes from Nigeria, including crude oil.

House of Representatives

On the car purchase, the lawmakers were angry over the continuous retention of chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, by the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, over his role in the controversy surrounding padding of 2016 budget, especially on constituency projects.

Though the speaker did not disclose what were discussed at the closed door session which lasted about one hour, Vanguard reliably gathered that the issue of purchase of vehicles for oversight functions and the controversy over constituency projects in the budget, which pitched the Presidency against the National Assembl,y dominated discussions.

A member who attended the closed door session, told Vanguard on condition of anonymity that some of them were not disposed to the purchase of Prado Jeep, following the reduction in the allocation to the National Assembly from N150 billion in 2014 to N120 billion in 2015 and N115 billion in the 2016 budget.

When contacted, Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas, said there was nothing like Prado Landcruiser Jeep as the House had settled for 508 Peugeot.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has mandated its leadership to liaise with the executive to ensure that additional N35.824 billion was made available to the amnesty programme for the reformation of militants in Niger Delta.