Falana blames electoral malpractice on security votes, lawmakers’ allowances

Former governorship candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP) in Ekiti State, Femi Falana, has said that the security votes that are unaccounted for paid to state governors and huge allowances received by legislators cause high level of electoral fraud and violence in the country.

The Lagos lawyer stated this at the National Democracy Day Anti-corruption Summit organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to him, Section 70 of the constitution states that the fiscal commission shall fix the salaries and allowances of legislators.

“Instead, the National Assembly members, on their own, in connivance with the executive, even under a government that is fighting corruption, fix their own salaries.

“They said allowance for a senator is N15 million and House of Representatives member is N13 million, contrary to the constitution of the country; that is why everybody wants to go there. Somebody said their welcome package is running into billions, that is why it is a rat race.

“We cannot sit down and be talking about monitoring election without looking at the foundation of criminality that we are going through,” he added.

The former president of the West African Bar Association (WABA) blamed the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for complaining about the excesses of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), whereas Nigerians tried for 16 years to convince it on the need for credible elections.

He challenged Buhari to tell the world what became of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) scandal, fuel subsidy, Ikoyi-gate where huge amount of money was discovered and so many corrupt elements around him.