Before the Senate broke for its annual break on Monday, Akpabio had informed his colleagues that money had been delivered to “enjoy” their vacation.
The Senate President declared, “A token has been delivered to our various accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly to enable us all to enjoy our holidays.
Nigerians criticized the senators for slumming it off the country’s coffers in response to Akpabio’s remark and called for their resignation.
Some legislators were obliged to concede that the amount provided to them as a leave allowance was merely N2m and not some ludicrously high sum as had previously been claimed due to the controversy.
Senator Ndume cited Akpabio’s public disclosure as the cause of the unjustified attacks on the lawmakers in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service.
“Any employee going on leave has a right to a leave grant, as is well known,” he stated. That was the payment we got, and it’s nothing out of the ordinary or noteworthy.
“N2 million was distributed to every senator. Due to the fact that he (Akpabio) is the root of this problem, I am saying this with a heavy heart.
The member for Borno South continued, “He gave the idea that we were given anything exceptional or a large sum of money. What’s the big issue if I receive a senator’s allowance of N2 million?
“He said something quite inappropriate, and I told him right away that his remarks were inappropriate for an elder