Senate President Lawan meets Buhari, dismisses allegation of $10m bribe

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has described as false the $10million bribe allegedly offered to members of the two Chambers of the National Assembly to pass 3% host community development fund.

Lawan said this on Monday while briefing State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Senate President frowned at the way and manner that some citizens had been spreading fake news and misinformation against the NASS and the government.

Some media organisations had reported that the leadership of NASS had been allegedly accused of taking bribe to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

According to Sahara Reporters, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila were paid in dollars to ensure passage of the PIB which was signed into law on Aug. 16 by President Buhari.

“People say anything or everything about the President, about the administration, about members of the National Assembly; they call us names and this is part of the intangible dividends of democracy.

“We are determined to ensure that the space is wide open for everybody to say whatever he wants to say.

“But I will advise that don’t say things that are bad because people are in the habit of that.

“Recently somebody said $10million was given to the Speaker and the Senate President to give to members of the National Assembly to pass 3% host community development fund.

“That is funny, but also very serious. I really want to take this opportunity to take exceptions to those kinds of unwarranted, unprovable, false and fake information being fed to the Nigerian public.

“The danger people will face with this is you cause unnecessary damage to the reputation of people.”

Lawan recalled that he filed a law suit against someone (name withheld) who allegedly spread similar falsehood against him.

“I had an occasion to take someone to court because of this kind of thing about three months ago.

“But Nigerians are better judges than anywhere else; so, the freedom of expression is there, probably more than anywhere in the world.

“I want to caution that Nigerians should always think positive about their leaders, their administration and their governments.

“If they have issues they feel very strongly about, let them speak the truth and we are prepared to take corrections that we feel should be able to make us do better.”

On the mass surrender of Boko Haram insurgents, Lawan expressed satisfaction with the new strategies adopted by the armed forces and other security agencies to tackle insurgency in the North-eastern part of the country.

He said the mass surrender by members of the Boko Haram sect was a clear indication that the war against insurgency would soon be over.

He, however, cautioned that the repentant insurgents should be properly screened.

“I’m sure the new strategies by the current leadership of the armed forces are working.

“Boko Haram, having lost its leader and probably having lost so many commanders, some of them think they should just throw in the towel.
“Therefore, it’s one of those success stories of the fight against insurgency in the North-East.”

Lawan said his meeting with the President also touched on 2022 budget proposal, activities of the Buni-led Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the need to complete some legacy projects of the Buhari-led administration.

=============