NASS director exposes alleged rampant corruption among Nigerian lawmakers
A senior official in the National Assembly, Mrs. Ifeoma Ofili, has sparked national outrage after making explosive allegations of deep-rooted corruption among federal lawmakers.
Speaking candidly at a closed-door retreat hosted by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) on June 27, Ofili detailed systemic bribery, legislative manipulation, and financial exploitation within the hallowed chambers of Nigeria’s legislature.
The video of her speech exposing the lawmakers at the retreat has since gone viral on social media, generating outrage among Nigerians who accuse the lawmakers of institutionalising corruption under the guise of legislative duties. Some were of the opinion that corruption is not just prevalent in the legislative arm, but deeply entrenched within the executive branch as well.
Ofili, a director in the House of Representatives and former Clerk of the House Committee on Local Content, painted a damning picture of misconduct by lawmakers.
She accused legislators of routinely collecting bribes from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) during oversight visits, where they allegedly receive hospitality, money, and travel arrangements from the very institutions they are meant to scrutinize.
“Flight tickets, accommodations, cash all provided by the MDAs. What oversight are we talking about?” she asked. “And after collecting all this, lawmakers come back and fight over the spoils without giving a kobo to the clerks or committee assistants.”
She added that committee clerks, including herself, are then pressured to fabricate reports of events that never happened.
“You’re forced to write lies,” she declared. “As a Catholic, I just go to confession. But I still document the truth on my own system.”
Ofili also revealed that external consultants, who often have no firsthand knowledge of committee proceedings are hired to write public hearing reports, sidelining the official staff whose duties include such documentation.
“Last year, I asked one such consultant if he attended the hearing he was writing on. He said, ‘No.’ I said, then what are you writing? I refused to work with him.”
Despite nearing retirement, Ofili insisted she had nothing to lose by speaking up, referencing a proverb her mother once told her: “She’s not dancing for money; she’s dancing so that people will see her.”
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In a series of revelations that stunned participants at the retreat, Ofili disclosed that funds allocated for staff welfare including training, medicals, and sports were often collapsed into vague budget lines and diverted for personal use by legislators.
“Allowances clearly earmarked for staff are buried under the label ‘collapsed funds,’” she said. “They chop their own and chop our own.”
The allegations extended to the maltreatment of retired staff, many of whom, she said, go years without receiving their pensions or retirement packages.
“Some of our retirees are forced to stand by the National Assembly gates, begging for fuel money,” she noted. “Is this how we reward people who served for 35 years?”
Ofili questioned the sincerity of legislators who appear tough on MDAs during televised hearings but allegedly negotiate backdoor deals that neuter any real accountability.
As of the time of filing this report, repeated attempts by this newspaper to reach the official spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon. Akin Rotimi, and his deputy, Philip Agbese, for comment went unanswered.
The revelations have triggered a wave of public indignation, with #NASSExposé and #IStandWithIfeoma trending on social media platforms. Civil society organizations have called for an independent investigation, while transparency advocates are urging whistleblower protection for Ofili.
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