“No Money Shared at Iftar Meeting,” Says Akpabio, Dismissing Bribery Allegations Over Rivers Emergency Rule Approval

The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the House of Representatives have denied the allegations that the federal lawmakers received bribes to endorse the state of emergency declaration in Rivers State.
It was alleged that 45 senators were offered $5,000 each, while another 42 received $10,000 each, ahead of the National Assembly’s approval of the emergency rule.

But Akpabio, in a statement issued yesterday by his spokesperson, Eseme Eyiboh, described the bribery allegation as an attempt to blackmail lawmakers.

Akpabio said he hosted senators at his guest house for an Iftar meal but insisted that no money was shared.

“It is true that I confirmed the Iftar meeting and further asserted that the Distinguished Senate President has always hosted his colleagues of both religious faiths in every season of spiritual rebirth,” the statement reads.

“There has never existed any reason to share any money in such a solemn meeting, and no money in any currency was shared.

“I have vehemently denied this spurious rumour of sharing any money. The rumour in itself is peddled by the merchants of blackmail enterprise to add flavour to their subsisting hate and malice campaign.”

Similarly, the House of Representatives has denied allegations that each member was induced with $5,000 to ratify the state of emergency declaration in Rivers State.

Deputy spokesman of the House, Hon. Philip Agbese, while responding to the issue in an interview with journalists in Abuja yesterday, described the allegation as false, malicious and emanating from “the pit of hell.”

According to Agbese, Thursday’s resolution of the House on the State of Emergency declaration in Rivers was done out of patriotism and in the interest of restoring lasting peace to River State.

He said: “The allegation that members of the House of Representatives were induced with $5,000 to pass a resolution, is unfair to the parliament – very, very unfair to the parliament. What we did on Thursday was to align ourselves with what I call the wisdom of King Solomon.

“All insinuations that any individual was given money to give to members is nothing but lies from the pit of hell. The opposition should see the good things that we are doing day and night for the country.

“At no point did members of the House engage in any financial inducement in relation to the state of emergency declaration. The decision was taken after extensive deliberations on the security and political situation in Rivers State, in line with our constitutional responsibilities to safeguard national stability. Any suggestion that lawmakers were bribed is pure fiction, designed to serve the interests of those who seek to distort facts and create unnecessary tension in the country.

“The House of Representatives remains an independent institution guided by democratic principles, the rule of law, and the collective will of the Nigerian people. Our duty is to make decisions that align with the national interest, not to succumb to baseless distractions aimed at eroding public trust. The allegations of bribery are a desperate attempt to discredit the House and must be dismissed as the political comedy that it is.

“What the President did was like what King Solomon did when the two women who were fighting over the propriety of a child came to him. These people in Rivers, are all interested in the progress and development of Rivers State. They love the state, and they are working hard for it. But one way or the other, disagreements arose among the parties which escalated, and Mr. President, in his wisdom, decided to impose a state of emergency for a period of time so as to allow the two parties to come together, in order to further deepen our democracy.”

He said the lawmakers approved the State of Emergency declaration in Rivers State out of patriotism and not for any pecuniary consideration as being alleged.

“We have seen some of the developments in River State. The government is not doing badly. But what we are saying is that we don’t want the breakdown of institutions as far as River State is concerned,” said Agbese.

He said the parliament in its wisdom made some key adjustments to the president’s emergency proclamation before ratifying it.