The attention of the Cross River State House of Assembly has been drawn to a misleading and malicious publication by an online platform, Converseer, titled “Analysis: Breakdown of Cross River Assembly members’ salaries and allowances.”
For the avoidance of doubt, the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly has not mandated any individual or group to speak on behalf of the House. The Assembly is currently on recess, and therefore, any report attributing statements to the Speaker or the House should be disregarded in its entirety.
On the issue of the alleged one percent (1%) allocation from the 18 Local Government Areas of the state, the House wishes to make it categorically clear that it has not received any such allocation, contrary to insinuations in the said publication.
It is also important to state that the salaries and allowances of legislators are not determined by the House but fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). These figures are publicly available and verifiable on the Commission’s official website.
For emphasis, any official communication from the Cross River State House of Assembly can only come through the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker or the Clerk of the House. Members of the public and media practitioners are therefore advised to rely strictly on these channels to avoid being misled by unauthorized publications.
The House strongly cautions against the spread of falsehoods capable of misleading the public and undermining the integrity of the legislature.
Emmanuel Onwuka