The House of Representatives has debunked media reports credited to the National Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Christopher Onyeka, that its members received N100 million as palliatives from the executive arm of government.
OsunDailyNG reports that the spokesperson of the House, Akin Rotimi, in a statement issued on Wednesday, described the claim as baseless and devoid of any factual accuracy.
Rotimi said Oyenka lied in his claim that the Federal Government had given N100 million to National Assembly members as palliatives.
He noted the claim was malicious and demanded an immediate retraction of the ‘lie’ and a public apology from NLC.
The spokesperson added that NLC, as a critical stakeholder in the development of Nigeria, has a voice, and it risks delegitimising the voice if it is found to include fables in its legitimate agitations.
He said: “Transparency and truth in public discourse are necessary for a functioning democracy. While we doubt thatMr.r Onyeka was actually conveying the official position of the NLC on this claim, it is nonetheless important to correct such misinformation.
“We state categorically that Mr Onyeka lied in his claim that National Assembly members were given N100 million as palliatives.
“For the avoidance of doubt, at no time did members of the House of Representatives receive any money from the executive arm as palliatives. We, therefore, consider this statement malicious, irresponsible, and in bad faith.
“We consider it irresponsible and most unfortunate that Mr Onyeka would misrepresent facts in a bid to lend credence to otherwise valid demands of the NLC while seeking to denigrate the National Assembly and inciting the public against the institution.”
