Speaker Abbas Denies Involvement in Alleged ₦18.6bn NASC Building Contract Controversy

Speaker Abbas Denies Involvement in Alleged ₦18.6bn NASC Building Contract Controversy

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has refuted allegations linking him to the alleged mismanagement of ₦18.6 billion reportedly associated with the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) headquarters project.

The allegations were made by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which suggested that the Speaker had questions to answer regarding funds tied to the building project. But in a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, Abbas dismissed the claims as “factually incorrect and misleading.”

“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,” the statement said.

Read also: Police Rescue Seven Young Men Tortured in Delta ‘Hustlers’ Kingdom’ Apartment

Krishi explained that all contract-related activities in the National Assembly fall strictly under the administrative bureaucracy, which has its own statutory leadership and procurement procedures. He added that the NASC headquarters project “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 public to respect institutional boundaries that distinguish the responsibilities of political office holders from administrative bodies.

It further advised civil society groups to conduct proper verification before attributing procurement or administrative decisions to elected officials.