Former Majority Leader and MP for Zebilla, Cletus Apul Avoka has said he and most of his colleague MPs will have to be corrupt in one way or the other to be able to maintain their seats.
According to the experienced lawmaker, this is due to the unrealistic demands on MPs from their constituents.
Speaking to EIB Network Parliamentary Correspondent, Ibrahim Alhassan in an interview, Cletus Avoka said many good MPs have lost their seats not because they underperformed, but because they were unable to meet the unrealistic demands from their constituents which is usually monetary.
”…The Press men should have been fighting for the MPs, should have been defending the MPs. Everyday momo, somebody is sick in the hospital, you have to send money, somebody wants to do a wedding you have to send money, they are going to do outdooring, they are asking from you, they are asking for school fees and what not. Many of us lose election not because we are not doing a good work, but because we are not giving money out.”
The lawyer cum legislator asserted that such unreasonable demands have pushed many MPs into engaging in corrupt activities to be able to meet their constituents needs.
”How do we give money out when you come and stay there for five hours or eight hours debating and close in the evening and go and sleep, the following day you have no money to send. You have to go out there and look for the money. That’s where the corruption starts. If I am not corrupt how do I maintain my seat? You have to be corrupt one way or the other, you have to look for more resources. If you have to look for more resources you have to go out and do some work for a contractor. As a lawyer, maybe prepare a bill or do this and that, so that I have half attention here, half attention outside because I need more resources to maintain my seat. Otherwise, you will be a one-term MP. Many of those who are one term or two term MPs it’s not because they don’t know or they are not working but because they are not dashing out money.”
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