The Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkin Daji, has sparked controversy after gifting ₦7 million in cash to his personal assistant, Ibrahim Awwal, who lost a councillorship primary in Mariga Local Government Area.
Awwal, who contested under the All Progressives Congress (APC) consensus arrangement, was unsuccessful. While addressing an audience, the Speaker downplayed his aide’s disappointment, questioning why he had contested in the first place.
“You are crying because you lost your councilorship seat. When you went for the contest, I wasn’t aware. I didn’t ask you to contest, and I don’t see a reason why you will pay delegates to be chosen as a councillor consensus candidate. And if they can’t choose you, for God’s sake, there is no need to contest. So don’t bother yourself.
“The whole salary for the three years you spend in office as a councillor if you win is ₦6.4 million. Here is ₦7 million I give you free of charge. So don’t worry about your councilorship aspiration again,” he said.
In addition to compensating Awwal, Sarkin Daji also handed out ₦500,000 each to 12 other aspirants who accepted the consensus process without dispute.
“To be careful about something, there are 12 people who contested for councilorship in different wards of Mariga Local Government and voluntarily accepted the outcome of the consensus process. Aside from the chairmanship aspirant, I gift all the 12 persons ₦500,000 each for their understanding and for not causing any issues as a result of the outcome of the consensus result,” he added.
The move has drawn sharp criticism, with many questioning the Speaker’s priorities. Some social media users argued that such funds could have been better spent on development projects instead of compensating political aspirants.
Yahaya Mohd Usman condemned the decision, calling it a wasteful display of wealth in a state with pressing needs.
“I have watched a video of the Speaker of the Niger State Assembly, Sarkin Daji, allegedly paying out a councilorship aspirant his cumulative three years’ salary to give up his aspiration to contest the seat, with a warning to the man, ‘I didn’t ask you to run.’ What is nauseating about the video is how a supposedly third person in the hierarchy of a state will display such an amount of money in cash as a payout when so many developmental projects in his LGA are yearning for attention.”
Critics also pointed to the lack of progress in Mariga Local Government, arguing that the Speaker should focus on improving roads, schools, and healthcare instead.
Abdulmalik Yakubu questioned Sarkin Daji’s impact, stating: “Call him again and ask if there is any single administrative achievement or accomplishment under his government for the people of his local government constituency so far in the two years of his service as a State member representing his constituent.
“With people like him, democracy will not go anywhere and will not do anything meaningful to the lives of our people.”
Another commentator, Abdul Adon Faila, speaking in Hausa, expressed disappointment over the Speaker’s priorities.
He said: “That is not right because someone may urgently need ₦100,000 in assistance but cannot get it.”
The video
