Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has claimed that members of the National Assembly received bribes to support the declaration of the state of emergency in Rivers State.
Obasanjo made the claim in a video clip seen by Daily Sun. The erstwhile president was spotted in a conversation with House of Representatives member, Ikenga Ugochinyere, who denied reports that federal lawmakers were paid $200,000 each to support the emergency rule.
“Nobody gave anyone $200,000. That is just what I want to correct,” he said.
However, the former president insisted that he had direct knowledge of the payments. He claimed that those who got the money told him about it.
He said, “You can say anything. I heard it from the horse’s mouth. You can deny it, that is alright, but I heard it from those who got it and told me that they got it. If you didn’t get it, then maybe your case is different. Don’t tell me what I know. Most of your members who got it told me that they got it.”
This allegation follows an earlier denial by the Chairman of the House Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mukhtar Betara, who dismissed claims that cash payments were made to lawmakers to secure support for the emergency declaration.