APC rep: We pay up to N3m to present bills in the house

Ibrahim Auyo, a member of the house of representatives has revealed that lawmakers pay up to N3 million to present bills on the chamber floor and must lobby to get them passed.

This statement was made on Friday in a meeting with his constituents who had criticized him for failing to sponsor bills and motions to improve the life of those he represents.

In a video that has now gone viral, the APC lawmaker who represents Hadejia/Auyo/Kafin Hausa federal constituency in Jigawa exposed the politics behind the passing of bills.

Auyo mentioned that legislators pay between N1 million and N3 million to get their proposals passed.

“Since I was elected as a member in 2015, no individual has given me a bill to pass, either from Auyo, Hadejia, or Kafin Hausa. They are just pretending,” he said.

“And also, even the bills and petitions are paid for. You have to pay from N3 million, N2 million, or N1 million to present it.

“And after you present the bill, you must follow up by lobbying the whole 360 members of the house to accept the bill,” he said in Hausa language.

Speaking further, Auyo dismissed claims that he had not assisted his constituents in securing employment since he was elected in office.

“That is not true. Whoever says I didn’t help our youth is lying. Those I helped know themselves, and I can’t satisfy all,” he said.

“Even God that creates us [did not make us equal]. Look at your five fingers; they are not the same, so you can’t satisfy all.

“I do distribute my things [empowerment] myself, and 80 percent out of 100 percent is for youths, I swear to almighty Allah.

“My first motorcycle and car distribution were distributed to the youths. No single elderly person benefited. Just recently, during the governor’s empowerment in Auyo LGA, all the beneficiaries were youths,” he added.

He, however, accused the youth of selling off the empowerment items at a ridiculous amount and end up squandering it.

“You bought [an empowerment item] at N300,000; they sell it for N150,000 immediately after collecting it,” he said.

Bills Approval

Despite the accusation levied against the house on lobbying, the lawmaker said he is willing to accept bills from constituents committed to the process.

“For the bills, I give each community the chance to present theirs. They should sit with their community leaders, write down their needs, and bring them to me in Auyo.

“Even if I am not in Auyo and I am in Abuja, they should delegate two or three people from the LGA to meet my team so we can confirm it is from the constituency and see if I can address it or not,” he said.

“We have done this before they started giving us such requests, so why can’t we do it now when they actually give them to us?

“I have my representatives—they should go through them. If they do so, I can first review it; if I can do it myself, I will. If it is a bill, I can also present it.

“I urge people to work collectively as a team, to submit their requests to me or even through others. In fact, it is me now, and by God’s grace, until 2027, it will still be me,” he added.

Auyo also spoke about the level of insult he has received as a politician, and asked that people respect not just the position but also the age difference.

“Insulting leaders for personal reasons are wrong. Some people, if not for politics, are too small to insult you.

“My advice to the youth is this: when you insult someone’s father today, tomorrow someone will insult your own father. When you insult someone, you are insulting your own father—even if he is in his grave.”

Nevertheless, the controversies surrounding the lobbying to pass bills that would benefit the citizens should be looked into as it gives room for bribery and corruption.