Credit Alert Shows Senators Received N2million as ‘Holiday Token’

Following the directive of Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Nigerian senators have reportedly received their “holiday token” allowance, a move that has triggered controversy and gained prominence on social media platforms. Earlier, Senator Ireti Kingibe, who represents the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, had denied the existence of such a directive.

The Senate administration has chosen not to comment on the matter, and efforts to verify this development on Thursday yielded no results.

Senator Kingibe asserted that she had solely received her “statutory allowance” and expressed unfamiliarity with Akpabio’s statement. During the final session of an extraordinary plenary convened to confirm ministerial nominees, Akpabio had instructed the clerk of the National Assembly to distribute a “holiday token for enjoyment” to each senator. This declaration drew strong reactions from his colleagues, prompting him to backtrack, saying, “I withdraw that statement.” He followed up by joking that he had sent “prayers to your mailbox,” which Senator Kingibe refuted, confirming that she had not received any such communication.

As reported by THE WHISTLER, a screenshot of a credit alert was shared on Thursday afternoon, revealing that the 109 senators in the upper house of the Nigerian legislature have indeed received the funds. In the alert, credited to a senator from Ondo State (whose name was not disclosed), the sum of N2 million was visible.

The alert was received at exactly 11:44am on August 8, 2023.

The information on the alert show,
“txn: credit Ac:2xx .97x Amount NGN:2,000,000.00
“Des: NFT SENATE OVE/NAT,” part of the alert showed.

Attempts to communicate with the mentioned senator were unfruitful, as his media aide did not respond to emails. Similarly, Senator Kingibe did not respond to inquiries to verify whether she had indeed received the new alert, contrary to her earlier statement.