Some members of the House of Representatives have refused to accept bags of rice donated by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, citing dissatisfaction with the conditions attached to the distribution.
According to TheCable, the dissent followed the dissemination of an internal memo that detailed the process lawmakers must follow before reaching out to Rice.
The memorandum instructed legislative aides to obtain specified forms from the Speaker's office, submit photocopies of official identification cards, and present written authorization from their principals. The completed documents were to be sent to the Special Adviser on Finance for verification.
The lawmakers were also directed to collect rice from Garki International Market, near the old Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Quarters, from Monday, January 26, after the documentation process is completed.
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Many MPs described the process as excessive and said they would not participate in it. A member questioned why elected representatives have to go through multiple layers of screening to collect 125 kg of rice.
Others raised concerns about the choice of collection point and asked why the distribution was done through a private shop in the public market rather than being managed within the National Assembly premises.
Some lawmakers said donations should be redirected to vulnerable residents of Ebonyi State.
Umahi served as the Governor of Ebonyi State between 2015 and 2023. He was elected on the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) before joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) during his second term. He was elected senator in 2023, but later resigned following his appointment as Minister of Works by President Bola Tinubu.
While donations and welfare moves from members of the executive to lawmakers are not unusual, the objections in this case focused on the conditions attached to the distribution rather than the donation itself.
