[size=14pt]Reps groan under repayment of N10b loan[/size]
By Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja3 hours 51 minutes ago

The House of Representatives may have begun the repayment of the controversial N10billion loan obtained during the sixth House under former Speaker Dimeji Bankole, it has been learnt.

Bankole, before the close of the sixth House, had said  the loans were taken in three tranches of N1.5 billion, N2.5 billion and N6.5 billion to service the interest of the House.

It was leant that the repayment of the loan, which caused so much row at the close of the House and for which Bankole and his Deputy, Usman Bayero Nafada, were charged before the courts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has begun to take its toll on the operations of House committees.

It was believed that after an appeal from the last House leadership, the Presidency bought over the debt for political mileage and as a bargaining chip with the incoming House, at the time.

This has proved to be a wrong notion as sources told The Nation that the House began the repayment of the loan about two months ago.

Committee chairmen are complaining over the development, saying they run their committees without the necessary funds.

They have also sourced for funds for their meetings and other activities and are mostly operating on shoe-string budgets to avoid grounding the House’s legislative processes.

Members of the House are said be feeling the paucity of funds because of the various loans’ deductions and the 63 per cent reduction in the running costs of the House and members.

The situation is said to be so bad that many members are complaining to Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and  urging him to resolve the matter.

But Tambuwal is said to be handling the matter carefully based on similarity in the current circumstance and the one that brought the last House into disrepute under  Bankole.

[b]A first-time member of the House, who spoke in confidence, lamented that constituency demands have tripled while income has reduced.

According to him, the new package earned by members is at variance with that of the last House and “is a great disappointment.”

Others blamed the deductions of the N7million  car loan, which was given to each of the 360 members at the beginning of the seventh Assembly, on bureaucracy.

The deductions for the loan were said to have begun before some members could access the money.

The loan was to allow the lawmakers purchase personal vehicles of their choice pending the purchase of operational vehicles by the leadership of the House for the members.

Bank sources told The Nation  that some returning and new members owe debts running into hundreds of millions.

Some of the outstanding loans were reportedly used by most of the new members to buy homes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) after the orientation given to new members in the geo-political zones.

“Many incoming members who were elected as members for the first time and had no residence in the FCT also obtained loans from banks to purchase houses of their choice. In some cases, the loans run into hundreds of millions,”  a bank source, who  pleaded anonymity, said.

The deductions for the loan from the salaries of members were said to be so high that nothing is left of the salaries of most members.[/b]

House spokesman Zakari Mohammed said he would not comment on the N10billion loan and that he would later get back to our correspondents. 

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/26228-reps-groan-under-repayment-of-n10b-loan.html

One day, the citizenry will set fire to the NASS.

All the funds will bee pocketed by these individuals

They have also sourced for funds for their meetings and other activities and are mostly operating on shoe-string budgets to avoid grounding the House’s legislative processes.

Members of the House are said be feeling the paucity of funds because of the various loans’ deductions and the 63 per cent reduction in the running costs of the House and members.

The situation is said to be so bad that many members are complaining to Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and urging him to resolve the matter.

But Tambuwal is said to be handling the matter carefully based on similarity in the current circumstance and the one that brought the last House into disrepute under Bankole.

It seems some of them are actually angling for another Bankole style loan. Its not that they do anything worthwhile for the masses anyway, all they want is huge sums of money to run worthless committees that only deliberate on how to get more money.
In the meantime, genuine ground-breaking policies like the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that would positively touch the person on the street are trampled underfoot by Tambuwal and his troops.