In a recent investigation by PREMIUM TIMES, it has been revealed that the presiding officers of the National Assembly—Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, along with their deputies, Barau Jibrin and Ben Kalu—will receive N10 billion for rent and furniture in the 2024 supplementary budget for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

This budget allocation, labeled “Renting and Furnishing of Presiding Officers of the National Assembly,” carries the classification code 23010309 within the N288 billion supplementary budget submitted by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly in September. Remarkably, this budget was approved by lawmakers within just five days.

Under Nigeria’s bicameral legislative system, the National Assembly is led by four presiding officers: the Senate President, the Speaker, the Deputy Senate President, and the Deputy Speaker.

These allocations follow a trend of lavish accommodations extended to high-ranking government officials by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. Over the past 15 months, Wike has also approved a N21 billion residential mansion for Vice President Kashim Shettima and allocated N25 billion for housing for 40 judges.

With the latest budget for rent and furniture, Wike seems to be extending his generosity to all three branches of government—executive, judiciary, and legislature.

This financial commitment comes at a time when many Nigerians are grappling with severe economic challenges, attributed to government policies such as the deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector and the naira’s devaluation. In recent weeks, there have been tragic incidents where dozens of Nigerians lost their lives in stampedes while attempting to collect food items.

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