Pay Us Our Entitlements, Former Lawmakers Beg

Former Lawmakers who served in the aborted third republic have appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to pay their entitlements which have been left hanging for the past 31 years.

Speaking on the platform of the Third Republic Parliamentarian Forum, the former lawmakers said if Chief MKO Abiola and Amb. Babagana Kinginbe could be recognised, former members who were duly inaugurated should also be given due recognition and get their entitlements paid.

They spoke when they honoured one of them and a member representing Sagbama federal constituency of Bayelsa state, Hon Fred Agbedi who was a member of the third Assembly.

The welfare officer of the group, Hajia Amina Aliyu said that even though about 593 of them were inaugurated as members of the third assembly, about 250 of them have died without being paid their entitlements.

She said: “When we came here, we were 593, but over 250 have gone. Most of the women are dead. Yesterday (Tuesday) was 31 years since we were sworn in as members of this parliament. Our grandchildren can vote and be voted for now. But yet we still have problems.

Our problem is one, our claims. We are here to honour this man who has been struggling to fight for our rights and the rights of other Nigerians.

“If Abiola and Kingibe were being honoured and recognized, we are the foot soldiers. We are the delegates that voted them into power. What about us? Why can we not be honoured and paid our salaries and outstanding?

Many of us have died; some are half dead, like me here. I am also half dead because my engine is knocked. I am just trying to make life easy for myself.

“We are calling on the government, especially Asiwaju who is the President and one of us because he is our product of the Third Republic. We are all together. We are crying out. We have been crying in silence.”

Hajia Aliyu said the former lawmakers decided to honour Hon. Agbedi because he has continued to identify with them and taken care of the welfare of many of them.

In his response, Hon. Agbedi appealed to President Bola Tinubu to listen to the cry of the former Lawmakers and order the payment of their entitlements.

Agbedi said, “I also want to use this opportunity to call on Mr President who was part of the assembly as a Senator to ensure that all their entitlement in that republic should be given to them. Of course, he is also going to benefit from it being President or not.

“I also join them in calling on the National Assembly to do the needful. If for any reason they have kept crying out that there are things, there are entitlements, there are benefits that were cut short because of the military intervention, of course, and the National Assembly should take the lead in ensuring that what is right is done for the people.”