Despite taxpayers money used in installing Close Circuit Television (CCTC) at the National Assembly Complex, the devices are not functioning, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has revealed.
Reacting to a motion moved by Remi Tinubu (APC, Lagos State) at Thursday plenary, on how her office at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja was burgled and items carted away last week, Ekweremadu wondered why the National Assembly Management was unable to fix the CCTV at the complex despite taxpayers money spent on them.
The development comes nine months after hoodlums invaded the National Assembly in broad daylight, beat up the sergeant-at-arms and carted away the Senate Mace.
Describing the situation at the National Assembly as an embarrassment, the Deputy Senate President also revealed that a former lawmaker who recently visited the National Assembly for a transaction, had his car burgled and undisclosed amount of money taken away.
He said: “Unfortunately and regrettably, this is not an isolated matter. I understand that a similar thing happened in the office of one of our colleagues in the House of Representatives. But even more worrisome was the report I got during the break of one of our former colleagues who came to do a transaction in the National Assembly.
“And then he left his car with some money inside it. By the time he came back, the car was broken into and the money removed. And he parked it just close to one of the buildings. So he thought that it was easy to detect. So, he reported to the management. They decided to look at the CCTV footage. Regrettably, the CCTV was not working.
“It’s embarrassment to all of us that we would fix CCTV all over the place with public funds and when matters arise for which it would come into use, we would discover that we just wasted our public money”.
He referred the matter to the management to submit its report through the Committee on Senate Services within two weeks.
Earlier, moving her motion under Order 43 of the Senate Standing Order 2015 (as amended), Tinubu listed items carted away from her office to include: an HP laptop computer, internet device, machine box attached to CCTV HP screen and some copies of Laws of the Federation.
While declaring that she is no longer safe in her office, she called on the National Assembly Management to replace her stolen items; a request Ekweremadu said cannot be granted until conclusion of investigations.
The incident, she recalled, happened on January 9, 2019.
“I have been in the Senate for the past eight years. Usually, we know what happens when we are on break when a lot of stuff happens, we come back and don’t find television. And this time, the occurrence is worrisome because this is the time we are all going for election and right now, I don’t feel safe in my office,” she said.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
