The Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Adeyemi Adaramodu has denied media reports that senators received rice worth N200million from President Bola Tinubu for distribution to their constituents as palliatives during the Yuletide.
However, a Senate source confirmed the development, saying some of the rice palliatives are yet to reach senators.
The Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on on Social Media, Olusegun Dada on his official X handle on Thursday, confirmed the distribution of palliative items worth N200 million to senators and palliative items worth N100 million to House of Representatives members.
He said: “After initial logistics delay, I can now confirm that Senators and members of the House of Representatives have started taking stock of the Federal Government’s palliative items for their constituents as part of efforts to ease life for all Nigerians. Each HoR member received items worth N100m while Senatorial constituencies got palliative items worth N200m.”
Although Adaramodu could not be reached by our correspondent for comment despite spirited efforts, Premium Times in a report quoted him to have debunked the insinuation by saying that neither him nor his colleagues from other states in the southwest have received any palliative items from the federal government.
He revealed that he distributed food items and money to his constituents for the celebration of Christmas and New Year but that the purchase was paid for by him and not the federal government.
He was quoted to have said: “Was it the minister that said that or the president because as for me I have not seen anything.
“If they had handed it over to us, you would see trailers loaded with food items across all constituencies in Ekiti State, Ondo and Oyo states and other states. Our people will even be happy to get the items from the federal government.
“As for me, Yemi Adaramodu, I have not received any food items from the federal government. The food I distributed to my people across my constituency was funded personally by me and that has been my tradition every year even while I was the Chief of Staff, before I got elected to the House of Representatives.
“I have read all these things on the internet too, many people are just saying a lot of things but for me, Yemi Adaramodu, I have not received any food items from the Federal Government, maybe when they give us, I will tell you.”
He insisted that it has been his tradition annually to distribute food items to his constituents since he was the Chief of Staff to the Ekiti State Government before he was elected into the House of Representatives and then the Senate.
“It is my tradition to distribute rice and money to my constituent members every year, I have done that this year independently and it is not from the federal government, I have not seen anything from the government.”
However, a source close to the Senate leadership confirmed that the allocation of rice to senators for onward distribution to their constituents is ongoing.
He however said while some may have received their, other are yet to get the consignment.
“I know that there is a provision to give Senators rice for their constituents. For instance my Senator has not received his and I believe there are many senators that have not received the rice. But am aware that something like that is going on, the source said.
