APC lawmaker says Rep members pay about N3m each to present bills, motions

Ibrahim Auyo, a federal lawmaker representing Hadejia/Auyo/Kafin Hausa constituency in Jigawa, has claimed that legislators pay between N1 million and N3 million to present bills, motions, and petitions on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Auyo, who was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), made the claim during a meeting with his constituents in Jigawa.

In the video of the meeting, which has now gone viral, the lawmaker responded to criticisms from his constituents over his abysmal record of bill sponsorship, claiming that legislators pay up to N3 million to get their proposals passed.

Speaking in Huasa, Auyo said, “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.

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“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.

Auyo also dismissed claims that he has not assisted his constituents in securing employment, adding that he personally handles his empowerment programmes, which the youth are the main beneficiaries.

“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.

“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 per cent out of 100 per cent is for youths, I swear to almighty Allah.

“My first motorcycle and car distribution was 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 stated.

The Rep accused some youths of selling off the empowerment items they were given.

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

Speaking further, Auyo declared his readiness 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,” he said.

“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.

“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.

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“Insulting leaders for personal reasons is 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.”