The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has refuted claims linking him to the alleged mismanagement of ₦18.6 billion said to be connected to the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) headquarters construction project.
The allegation, which was raised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), implied that the Speaker had clarifications to make regarding funds reportedly linked to the NASC building.
However, in a statement released on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, Abbas stated that the accusations were “factually incorrect and misleading.”
The statement continued, “For the avoidance of doubt, the Speaker wishes to state unequivocally that he has no involvement, directly or indirectly, in the award, processing, supervision, or payment of any contract within the National Assembly bureaucracy or any of its agencies.”
Krishi further explained that all contract-related activities in the National Assembly remain under the responsibility of the administrative bureaucracy, which operates with its own statutory leadership and procurement procedures. He added that the NASC headquarters development “was conceived, awarded, and contractually executed long before the emergence of the current leadership of the House.”
The Speaker’s office urged SERAP, the media, and the general public to respect the structural boundaries that distinctly separate the duties of elected officials from those of administrative units within the National Assembly.
The statement emphasised again that: “Attempts to link the Speaker or the House leadership to such matters are factually incorrect and misleading.”
The office also appealed for responsible reportage and advised civil society groups to refrain from attributing procurement or administrative decisions to political leaders without adequate verification.
