Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, has hurriedly approved the payment of over N104 million as severance package for the outgoing members of the state House of Assembly.
The amount does not include payment to lawmakers’ aides who will also exit service with their principals.
Mimiko defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last year to a chorus of opposition.
His adversaries rallied in the federal ballot on March 28 and delivered Ondo to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the presidential election.
He approved the payment of the severance allowance before the state elections yesterday, April 11.
The legislators, who are now going around with smiling faces, were allegedly paid secretly so as to have funds for the state elections.
Each of the 26 lawmakers reportedly received N4.011 million ($25,569.92) as severance allowance, which is normally paid after a four-year tenure.
Each lawmaker has a personal assistant.
The Assembly speaker has at least four aides (special assistant legal matters, chief of staff, special assistant political matters, and personal assistant). The deputy speaker has three (special assistant legal matters, special assistant political matters, and personal assistant).
Each assistant will receive between N1.6 million and N1.8 million.
A lawmaker confirmed to TheNiche anonymously that “our severance package is between N3 million and N4 million. To be precise, it is a little above N4 million.”
He said the speaker and deputy speaker will get the same amount as other lawmakers because all lawmakers are qualified for those offices and there is no basis for differences in severance allowance.
A former legislator confided that “yes, payment has been made to the 26 lawmakers but I cannot say precisely how much was paid to each.”
Earlier this year, Mimiko presented to the Assembly a budget of N130 billion for 2015, a 23 per cent reduction from the 2014 budget of N168 billion.
Some N77 billion was budgeted for recurrent expenditure and N53 billion for capital expenditure.
Economic and social sectors got the lion share of 30 per cent, while law and order got the least share of 0.66 per cent.
Mimiko attributed the reduction to the economic realities in the country and the global economic downturn.
He lamented that the fall in crude oil price is affecting the economy of Ondo, like other states in the federation, stressing that efficient management of public funds would be the panacea for the financial pressure.