Confab Allowance: Why I’ll donate to charity – Ozekhome

Constitutional lawyer and human rights crusader, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) has pledged to donate his monthly allowance of the alleged 12 million naira from the ongoing national conference to the less-privileged in the society.

In a statement issued by the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in Abuja, the legal luminary commended his learned colleague, Chief Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), and Pastor Tunde Bakare for rejecting their own monthly take home allowances from the conference, but promised to donate his to charity.

He said: “Whilst commending my good friends, Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, and pastor Tunde Bakare, for rejecting their own monthly take home of the alleged N12m allowance at the National Conference, my own approach will be quite different. I will collect the money and distribute it to the less privileged and needy members of the society, that populate the nooks and cranies of Nigeria”.

On his rationale for not rejecting the money, Chief Ozekhome said: “For I will not agree to further enrich the Federal Government of Nigeria by returning my Conference allowance. For one thing, the money has already been appropriated and released from government Coffers. The skewed

Nigerian system where corruption is very rife suggests that the money can develop “wings” and fall into wrong hands within government bureaucracy by simply “flying” away. I will not have the means of knowing if it is really returned to the Federation account”.

He explained further that  “The less privileged members of the society can be empowered with the allowance, through scholarship and bursary awards, capacity building, skills acquisition, empowerment programmes, such as grants to local women for farming and petty trading, purchase of motorcycles and tricycles for the youth, donations of sewing machines, milling machines and hair dryers for peasant women in the rural areas, donations of medical, food, and clothing items to orphanages, old women and men’s homes, and the teaming beggars on our streets across Nigeria”.