Kogi lawmakers boycott plenary over constituency allowances

Members of the Kogi State House of Assembly have boycotted plenary session over alleged non payment of their constituency allowances by the state government.

The house had adjourned its plenary session two weeks ago and resumed on Tuesday, but the plenary session could not hold following the boycott.

A lawmaker who confirmed the development said they were aggrieved that the state government only paid 75 percent of their constituency allowances in 2017 while they were yet to receive anything for 2018.

When contacted, Special Adviser to Kogi State Governor on Legislative Matters, Haruna Yusuf , described the development as a “family matter” which he noted would be resolved.

“The allowances are constitutional. The governor is much interested in the welfare of constituents. I must make it clear here that the constituency allowance they are talking about belong to the constituents and not the members per se.

“I appreciate the grievances of the members but you must understand that whatever government wants to do depends on the availability of funds”, he said.

According to him, the argument that the government should have used the bailout and Paris Club refunds to pay the constituency allowances was not tenable, adding that “the money that came had specific instructions from the presidency that it should be used for salaries”.