• As Shell releases $10m, reaffirms commitment to Ogoni cleanup

Over 200 members of the House of Representatives have taken delivery of brand new exotic cars, though all 360 lawmakers have yet to receive their July salaries.

It was gathered that the non-payment of their salaries and other benefits had left most of the members without enough funds in the last one week.

But, on Sunday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, disclosed that over 200 members had been given Peugeot 508 series for “utility services.”

Namdas stated that by the plan of the House, all 360 lawmakers would have taken delivery of their cars by December 31.

Each of the vehicles cost N17m and will consume a total of N6.1bn to supply all 360 units.

Namdas spoke further, “Over 200 have been supplied out of 360 and we are still getting more.

“Every member will get a car by the end of this year. The issue is that the payment and supply of the vehicle is being done in instalments.

“The House and the company (Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited) agreed to this arrangement of paying and supplying in instalments.

“Naturally, not all the members can get their cars at the same time and we have explained to them why this cannot be possible.”

However, owing to delivery delays and insufficient budgetary releases to the House, the majority of lawmakers were unable to get their cars in close to two years.

About 223 of the 360 members were “freshers,” who first came to the National Assembly in 2015.

The new members are said to be most pained as they have had to fuel personal cars for work since June, 2015.

Findings indicated that the delayed supply had led to grumbling by the members, who sought explanations from the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on why only 175 members could get their vehicles in two years.

At a meeting before proceeding on recess on July 27, lawmakers had reportedly put Dogara on the spot by demanding the sacking of the Chairman, Committee on House Services, Mr. Nasiru Baballe-Ila.

Baballe-Ila’s offence was that he “practically forced” the House to go for Peugeot 508 as against the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado or Camry, which the majority of lawmakers preferred.

Investigations showed that in the last few days, more supplies of the Peugeot 508 had been received, raising the number to “over 200.”

Asked to comment more on the issue, Namdas said part of the problem was funding challenges.

For example, he said some funding for the cars was included in the 2017 budget.

“You know that we have not started the implementation of the 2017 budget fully.

“You will appreciate the fact that payment for these cars will come from the budget. So, that issue too is there,” he added.

According to PUNCH, it was gathered that the supply of the 200 cars still did not address the problem of the non-payment of lawmakers, who are without their July salaries.

Lawmakers take a salaries of between N690,000 and N1.1m monthly, depending on how much deductions are made from a member’s pay to settle debts and other facilities.

In addition, they receive a quarterly allocation of between N27.9m and N33m.

But, a dip in flow of funds to the legislature in recent months and delays have led to cuts, affecting the pockets of the majority of members.

Investigations revealed that most of the members had stayed back in Abuja, one week after the National Assembly adjourned for six weeks.

They are said not to be in a hurry to visit their constituencies for now due to the cash crunch.

In the meantime, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SPDC, has said it will continue to support the cleanup process of Ogoni communities in Rivers State, adding that it had released $10 million take-off fund to the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Agency, HYPREP.

The firm’s General Manager, External Relations, Mr. Igo Weli, who spoke, weekend, in Port Harcourt at an interactive session with the media on the Ogoni cleanup project, said the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, recommendation encouraged a multi-stakeholder efforts driven by the Federal Government. He added that the oil company will continue to play its role alongside other stakeholders under a transparent governance framework.

He said that 15 SPDC JV sites, specifically mentioned in the report that needed attention, had been remediated in the communities and certified by government, adding that the firm had also raised its standard on remediation approaches in line with industry best practices.

Igo assured that “SPDC JV remains fully committed to continue supporting and contributing its share within the appropriate framework and governance structures. “We encourage all relevant stakeholders to also remain committed to contributing their share.”

Citizen with additional report from Vanguard