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Ex-legislative aides recount tales of woes over Non- Payment of N9b severance package

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David-MarkFemi-Gbajabiamila

 

 

Five months after,Aides to members of the National Assembly are yet to be paid  their unpaid N9billion duty tour and severance allowances. Sahara Weekly’s check revealed that the over 3000 former aides of the 7th Assemb ly are currently living in excruciating pains, poverty and abject sorrow. A cross section of the aides who besieged our office recount their tale of woes and pains while their boss are gallivanting about with a care about the welfare of their aides.

Q- Can you introduce yourself to us?

R- Well! My name is Rotimi Kazeem Shitabe, a member of the seventh assembly legislative aides. We served from 2011 to 2015.

–          My name is Alausa Ismaila, from Surulere constituency member of the seventh Assembly of NASTAF member at the National Assembly.

Q- We learnt that you’ve not been paid your severance, so can you share us what really happen, is it true?

R- yes! Ehn! We are being denied our civic-alliance entitlement. They have delayed it too much and it has attracted suspicion of embezzlement and fraud because as legislative aides from seventh assembly, we learnt that our principals have collected their severance pay as at June 2015. Sadly, up to date we have not receive our severance package. Also we’ve not received our duty tour allowance while we are in office and up to date.

Q- When are you supposed to get it and what are the measures you’ve taken to ensure that your packages or allowance were paid?

R-  what we gathered from the sixth assembly was that Immediately we finished the tenure, it should be minimum of one month for the national assembly to pay the legislative aides their severance due to them. And we have a body called NASTAF in the national assembly. It is constituted of legislative aides, but we have coordinators over there and some have joined the  eighth assembly which has helped us to have access in the National Assembly right now. And they’ve made several connections to meet the clerk of the house. We even staged a protest which  was successful and it was recorded that it is the number one protest successfully done in Nigeria. Well! But up to now we’re hearing sort of rumours that the clerk has signed the money on ground but have not been given to us. We are about 3000 legislative aides for God sake. About 5 legislative aides are been attach to each honourable, so we are talking about billions.

Q- Are your bosses aware of this and what is their reaction?

R- well! They’re much aware of it because they know what is happening. They’ve collected their own, I mean their severance as at June 2015, and I think they should show sense of leadership. I don’t think they should have kept quiet without doing anything because they brought us to national assembly for God sake. So, I don’t know why they kept quiet on this issue.

Q- For Instance, what is the minimum severance package due to each aide?

R- We have levels.  To start with, we have personal assistants, secretary, legislative aides 1, legislative aides 2 and SLA( Senior Legislative Assistance) and am not going to get it exaggerated, I think from the secretary above anybody should stand minimum of N 2 million above.

Q- Now, Can you tell us, what’s  the pathetic state of all these aides, how have they been coping since they left office?

R- Whao! That is a serious question because as am talking to you its not easy at all. Imagine how it feels when you have not collected your salary for four months.  A lot of us, the landlords are after us, our children are at home, even to feed is very hard and we’ve served this country diligently. We’ve severed our father’s land within our constituency and now this is the time for us to reap where we sow and some evil people in the national assembly are depriving us of our entitlement. I think it is very bad. I will not allow my children to serve this country because I’ll not let them pass through what I’ve gone through.

 

Q- I heard that it is difficult for some of you to even move out, so what do you intend to do. Is it true that so many of them are not able to feed their family.

R- Yes! Right now, even as I’ve said, I’ll make myself as an example. You know, we’re tired, we’re hungry, our children are at home, and our landlord is after us. Financially everything is down. Even to this minute, all is not going well, even some people cannot go for a particular destination to the other because of transportation, that is why we are begging Mr president that we know that he’s the father of change and we know that he will do it for us. He is a messiah of change that is the reason why we are begging him to please intervene in this matter as soon as possible for us to receive our severance and also our duty tour allowance.

What has happen to our duty tour allowance?, we are entitled to it while we are in office and what has happened to it?. Now we are also begging the senate president to please intervene as soon as possible on this matter. It is very critical at the moment because people cannot feed, we have served our father’s land diligently and it will not be nice for us to be crying on this matter every day. We’ve tired enough since we left office, nothing is going on, we’re jobless, and things are down really.

Q- So can you tell us what precisely do you work under as legislative aides?

R- I worked under honourable Monsuru Alao Owolabi, mainland federal constituency from 2011 to 2015.

 

Q- Okay lets hear from you, Mr Alausa, so can you tell us on your own side of the story.

R- hmmm…. What I have to say is just very simple. We just cry out to Mr. President to help prevail on minister of finance to release the money to the commission so that they can be able to settle us. But the information gathered is that ministry of finance is holding the money, that they didn’t release it to national assembly commission. if they have done that they would have pay us. So we just appealed with Mr president to look into this matter.

Q- Can you share with us what your mates are complaining about?

R- They are really complaining.  You see this morning some of them could not make it to this place due to financial reasons.

 

It would be recalled that aides to members of the National Assembly  protested their unpaid N9billion duty tour and severance allowances in September, 2015.

The Acting Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Ben Efeturi, assured the protesters that everything would be done to address their concerns.

Efeturi said the National Assembly’s management would not unduly cause them pains.

The protesting aides were led to the office of the Acting Clerk by the Chairman of the South-West chapter of National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum (NASSLAF), Hon. Al-Maroof Yinka Ajibolu.

According to Ajibolu, the aides were demanding to be paid Duty Tour Allowances (DTA) that have been due since April, last year.

“We had to meet them over our delayed severance benefits and our unpaid DTA”, Ajibolu told The Nation shortly before the peaceful protest march to the Acting Clerk’s office..

He also said the Severance Gratuity Allowance which ought to have been paid immediately after legislators received theirs about two months ago.

Mr. Efeturi, who made futile efforts to reach the National Assembly’s Director of Finance and Accounts, Alhaji Lasisi Bukoye on telephone, gave assurances that he would ensure a meeting between the aggrieved aides’ leaders and Bukoye today.

“They promised to pay the DTA, which ought to have been paid since April after legislators collected theirs but till date, the National Assembly management has kept quiet on the matter, knowing that we would be more focussed on the severance allowance.

“They promised to pay the DTA, which ought to have been paid since April after legislators collected theirs but till date, the National Assembly management has kept quiet on the matter, knowing that we would be more focussed on the severance allowance”

“Also, they ought to have paid us the severance allowance immediately after paying that of legislators but all that we are hearing is that some people are trying to figure out the best way to short-change us and ensure that we do not get our full entitlements.

“Such problems have occurred in the past but this time, we are more than ready for them as we know that President Mohammadu Buhari and Speaker Dogara would bring down the full weight of the law on any of the officials who may be implicated in National Assembly shenanigans,” an aide, who requested anonymity, stated.

On July 24, in response to The Nation’s enquiry, Bukoye blamed the delay in payment on paucity of funds.

The outstanding  (DTA) being owed each of the approximately 3, 000 aides is about N75, 000.

Also, in conformity with the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission’s stipulations, each of the five aides serving 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives is entitled to amounts ranging from N1 million to N4 million after four years’ service

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2027 BATTLE: David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola Must Petition IGP Tunji Disu To Declare Dumebi Kachikwu And His Goons Wanted 

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2027 BATTLE: David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola Must Petition IGP Tunji Disu To Declare Dumebi Kachikwu And His Goons Wanted For Parading Themselves As ADC Leaders, An Act Capable Of Destabilizing Nigeria’s Fragile Democracy 

 

*Nigerian media houses are also warned to stop overheating the polity with Kachikwu’s political shenanigans

 

As the rising main opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) preps for its all-important, much-awaited, no-holds-bar presidential primary election today in Abuja, we enjoin the party’s leadership led by the mercurial and consumate political juggernaut, former Senate President David Mark to immediately petition the Nigerian Inspector General of Police, IGP Tunji Disu, to forthwith declare Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu and his goons, wanted, if they go on parading themselves as the leaders of the ADC.

 

Over last 24 hours, our team of eminent young political scientists and investigative journalists have with keen interest, religiously observed the resurgent conspiracy theories against the main opposition ADC, across the websites of various mainstream and online media platforms in Nigeria- Vanguard, Punch, The Nation, Peoples Gazette, et al. The headlines read: “ADC crisis deepens as Dumebi Kachikwu faction sacks David Mark-led leadership,” “ADC in trouble as Dumebi Kachikwu emerges Presidential candidate,” etc.

 

For Pete’s sake, we are shocked to the point of un-shockability that these jankara, jeunjeun, and they said, he said journalists in the Nigerian media have failed to understand that their attempts to side with the calamitous APC regime of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to manufacture these failed conspiracy theories against the main opposition ADC will come back to bite them all in the butt should Nigeria be transmogrified into a one-party state or an elected monarchy in 2027.

 

We are forced to ask: How soon did these media platforms forget that on April 30, 2026, the apex Supreme Court in a 5-0 unanimous ruling by the five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba upheld that the David Mark-led ADC leadership remains the authentic leadership, thus, summarily asking INEC to recognize it, in toto? INEC had since obeyed the Supreme Court of Nigeria and has reinstalled the names of the David Mark led ADC leadership on its official portal (website).

 

These media platforms failed in their attempts to engineer crises within the ADC with the usurper, one Nafiu Bala Gombe. These media platforms failed in their attempts to engineer crises within the ADC with Mr. Peter Obi and his radical wing of the Obidient Movement Worldwide. Now, they are back again and have been hired by senior officials of the Tinubu regime to use the rascal called Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu and his goons to attempt to engineer conspiracy theories against the rising main opposition ADC?

 

Without much ado, we state unequivocally and emphatically that these hired media houses in Nigeria must stop their latest demonic paid agenda sponsored by Bola Tinubu and his goons. We state without mincing words that Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu is no longer a member of the main opposition ADC, as he had since been suspended and sacked for anti-party activities.

 

Respectively, the Honorable Justice Joyce Abdulmalik and Honorable Justice James Omotosho have both dismissed the suit filed by the so-called Dumebi Kachikwu faction against the Senator David Mark-led leadership in October 2025 and March 2026 for lacking jurisdiction to entertain suits regarding the internal affairs of the ADC. Let’s be guided with Section 83(5) of the Electoral Act 2026.

 

Enough is enough! Nigeria must not be morphed into a one-party state or an elected monarchy (the worst form of government), just to satisfy the ruinous agenda of one man called Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a man with alleged drug trafficking past in the United States of America. Bola Tinubu, a man with alleged controversies regarding who his parents were, his date of birth, elementary school, high school, college, and even employment background?

 

We conclude by stating emphatically that Bola Tinubu does not mean well for the Nigerian State and must not be allowed to coronate himself freely as the Ayatollah of Nigeria, come January 16, 2027.

 

All mainstream and online media platforms in Nigeria are hereby warned before it’s too late to navigate in such a calamitous whirlwind.

 

Ikenna Asomba is a political scientist and investigative journalist. He writes from the State of Illinois, United States.

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King Dokubo-Asari Storms Benin Republic for President Ramona Wadagni’s Historic Inauguration

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King Dokubo-Asari Storms Benin Republic for President Ramona Wadagni’s Historic Inauguration

Honouring Friendship: King Dokubo-Asari Attends Inauguration of President Ramona Wadagni in the Republic of Benin

 

 

Da Amakiri Tubo, Alhaji Mujahid Abubakar Dokubo-Asari, Dabaye Amakiri I, Amakiri Ekpeke, Amanyanabo of the Source, Elem Kalabari, was among the over 6,000 distinguished dignitaries from across the world who witnessed the historic transition of power in the Republic of Benin, as outgoing President Patrice Talon formally handed over leadership to the newly inaugurated President Ramona Wadagni on Sunday, March 24, 2026.

 

The colourful and historic ceremony took place at the Palais des Congrès de Cotonou, drawing world leaders, diplomats, royals, business figures and respected traditional authorities from different parts of the globe.

 

For Dabaye Amakiri, the occasion went beyond diplomacy and state protocol. President Wadagni is a longtime friend of the revered Kalabari monarch, and his presence at the inauguration was a demonstration of loyalty, friendship and enduring personal ties built over many years.

 

Alhaji Mujahid Abubakar Dokubo-Asari is widely regarded as a major stakeholder in the Republic of Benin, a country he has maintained deep ties with for more than two decades. He is the proprietor of the King Amachree International Children’s School and the defunct King Amachree University.

The King Amachree Children’s school has for many years been an international school with students coming from Congo, Togo, Ghana and Nigeria

 

Over the years, he has also established significant investments in real estate, hospitality and other business interests within the country, making the Republic of Benin a true second home to him.

 

In keeping with the rich traditions of ancient Kalabari royalty, the Amanyanabo of the Source did not journey alone.

His distinguished entourage included eminent Kalabari chiefs and respected personalities such as Se-Alabo EMI Membere-Otaji, MD, DSSRS, OON, Chief Executive Officer of Elscon Group and Deputy National President of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.

 

Also present were Se-Opu Alabo Dr. David T. Briggs, Deuin-Ala XII of Kalabari, Paramount Chief of the Ancient Deuin-Ala Chieftaincy House (1968), and Prince Tonye T. J. T. Princewill, Da OGO VI, Head of the Queen Elababene/Da OGO Group of Houses of the Kalabari Kingdom.

 

Speaking with journalists shortly after the inauguration ceremony, Dabaye Amakiri described the Republic of Benin as a place that has consistently shown him warmth, acceptance and friendship.

 

“The Republic of Benin has been a second home to me. I have always enjoyed the hospitality of the great people of this country, and I am here on the invitation of the President to honour him and this great nation,” he said.

 

Renowned for his deep respect for friendship, loyalty and longstanding relationships, Dabaye Amakiri is also known to share a close personal relationship spanning over three decades with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria.

 

Three days earlier, driving into the Republic of Benin via the Seme land Border, Dabaye Amakiri stopped over to exchange pleasantries with the new Deputy controller General of Immigration. Who was happy to receive the reverred monarch and graciously stepped out for a few minutes for photos with Dabaye Amakiri and his team

 

King Dokubo-Asari Storms Benin Republic for President Ramona Wadagni’s Historic Inauguration

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Apostle Omotosho Marks 40th Birthday, 7th Church Anniversary Amid Jubilation

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Apostle Omotosho Marks 40th Birthday, 7th Church Anniversary Amid Jubilation

 

CALABAR — Jubilant scenes filled the atmosphere on May 21 as family members, church congregants, associates, and well-wishers gathered to celebrate the 40th birthday of Apostle Omotosho Tope Joseph alongside the 7th anniversary of his ministry.

 

The colourful double celebration attracted religious leaders, dignitaries, and members of the Christian community, who described the occasion as a reflection of God’s faithfulness and the steady growth of the ministry over the years.

 

Among dignitaries present at the event were Pastor Dr. Elizabeth Aremu, the wife of Bishop Thomas Aremu, Assistant Director-General of the Department of State Services, Kolawole Sokoya, as well as other notable guests.

 

Speaking during the event, Apostle Omotosho expressed gratitude to God and appreciated everyone who contributed to the success of the celebration through prayers, gifts, goodwill messages, and physical presence.

 

He described his attainment of 40 years and the progress recorded by the church within seven years as evidence of divine grace and unwavering support from members and partners of the ministry.

 

“With a heart full of gratitude, I sincerely thank everyone who celebrated with me on my 40th birthday and our 7th Church Anniversary. Your prayers, kind words, gifts, presence, and overwhelming show of love made the occasion truly unforgettable,” he said.

 

The programme featured prayer sessions for Nigeria, prophetic ministrations, thanksgiving, and tributes from members and associates, who praised the cleric for his commitment to spiritual growth, humanitarian service, and mentorship.
Several speakers at the gathering described

Apostle Omotosho as a compassionate leader dedicated to uplifting lives and advancing Christian values within the community.

Apostle Omotosho Marks 40th Birthday, 7th Church Anniversary Amid Jubilation

The cleric also appreciated his family, friends, church workers, and members for their steadfast support toward the vision of the ministry.

 

“Thank you to my family, friends, members, and well-wishers for standing by me and supporting the vision God has given us. May the Lord richly bless each and every one of you for your love, sacrifices, and continued support,” he added.

 

The celebration ended with a special thanksgiving service and renewed prayers for greater impact and expansion of the ministry in the years ahead.

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