A member of the House of Representatives, Chinedu Obika, has disclosed that a fellow lawmaker was unable to raise ₦700,000 to pay his daughter’s school fees two months ago.
Obika said he personally stepped in to help the colleague settle the bill.
The lawmaker, who represents the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency of the Federal Capital Territory, made the disclosure while responding to public perception that members of the National Assembly are overpaid, in an interview on KAA Truths posted on Thursday.
Obika said the incident showed that not all lawmakers benefit from the “personal enrichment” often attributed to the National Assembly by Nigerians. He revealed that about two months earlier, a colleague of his had been unable to pay ₦700,000 for his daughter’s school fees, and that he personally stepped in to help settle the bill for the fellow member.
He said the incident was proof that members who kept quiet in the House often did so not because they were being paid off, but because they had nothing to show for their positions. He explained that when it comes to personal enrichment, members who benefit tend to stay silent, while those getting nothing are the ones who speak up. He added that he had never witnessed anything like the school fees incident before, recalling that a member had once fought over such matters, noting that National Assembly members tend to fight when good things come their way, not when they remain quiet, contrary to the outside perception that silence signals wrongdoing.
Obika did not name the colleague involved in the school fees incident.
He, however, insisted that every entitlement due to members of the National Assembly was a matter of public record, and challenged Nigerians to demand specifics rather than rely on unverified claims about lawmakers’ earnings. He said every entitlement meant for a member was publicly available, and invited anyone who had come across specific claims about lawmakers’ earnings to bring them to him directly for a response.
