Posted by By FRANCIS AWOWOLE-BROWNE, Abuja on
After their inauguration, amid pomp and pageantry yesterday, some new legislators among the newly sworn-in 109 senators and 360 representatives were jolted as government declared that they will live and operate from hotels scattered all around Abuja as there would be no accommodation for them.
After their inauguration, amid pomp and pageantry yesterday, some new legislators among the newly sworn-in 109 senators and 360 representatives were jolted as government declared that they will live and operate from hotels scattered all around Abuja as there would be no accommodation for them.
It was gathered that many of them, apart from the returning old ones, had looked forward to the use of official quarters as was the practice before now, but their expectations were dashed.
The new development, Federal Capital Territory Administration, which is saddled with the provision of accommodation for the lawmakers, said was consequent upon the sale of the legislators quarters to the former lawmakers as part of the on going monetization policy.
Also, the FCTA formally described as a pure lie, claims by the former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar that the house in Abuja which he was using as his guest house had been sold to him. The house is now being occupied by the immediate past FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.
Executive Secretary of the FCTA, Engineer Mohammed Sani Al-Hassan said yesterday during a press conference that the lawmakers' house popularly called Apo Quarters had been sold to all the lawmakers, who occupied them in the last administration in line with the monetisation policy and therefore, there are no houses for the new assemblymen.
He explained that what probably could be done is to give the new lawmakers some money to lodge in hotels before finding their own accommodation. Besides, the FCTA boss argued that his administration had nothing to do with the provision of places of abode for the new lawmakers, saying the Clerk of the National Assembly is responsible and would know what to do concerning it.
Despite this, he maintained that the monetisation policy would continue because that has been the policy on ground.
On the controversies surrounding the Atiku guest house, Engineer Al-Hassan stated that at no time was the house sold to the former Vice-President, noting that the Guest Houses were three in number and that former President Olusegun Obasanjo approved the sale of the one in Aso Drive to Mallam el-Rufai, since he was prevented from buying the one he was living as a minister.
It would be recalled that Alhaji Atiku's aides had raised alarm that Mallam el-Rufai had forcefully moved into the former Vice-President Guest house despite the fact that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the sale to Atiku.
However, Engineer Al-Hassan maintained that Mallam el-Rufai is the rightful owner of the house, and that the FCTA was not aware of the sale of the house to Atiku.
He also warned those who thought there was no administration in FCT due to the dissolution of the FEC by President Umar Yar'Adua to think twice as the transition committee headed by him would leave no stone unturned in implementing every policy on ground before the former minister left office.