Banks make use of female marketers to get house of reps elect and senators

firstclassnewsline.net

Firstclass newsline has learnt that several Commercial banks have
sent their marketers, mostly females after newly-elected senators and
members of the House of Representatives in Abuja to open discussions
on investments and other business deals.
The beautiful, sweet-talking and mostly female marketers, filled the
International Conference Centre, venue of an ongoing induction course
for the new arrivals on Monday.
Trace by Firstclass Newsline showed that the target of the banks
largely was to get the lawmakers to open accounts with them.
Some of the smartly dressed marketers also offered loan opportunities
they claimed their banks could guarantee with "friendly repayment
terms."
290 members of the House for example, are newcomers, out of the total of 360.
In the Senate, about 69 senators are also newcomers, out of 109.
Findings showed that the marketers started tracing the lawmakers since
Sunday night when Senate President, David Mark, declared the induction
programme open at the Transcorps Hotel, Abuja.
"They surrounded the Congress Hall of the hotel Sunday night.
They were everywhere,they didn't give the lawmakers breathing space,
as they offered all sorts of facilities (loans) and seeking to
maintain their accounts," a senior legislative aide confided in
firstclass newsline crew on Monday.
A member of the House earns around N27.9m every quarter as official allowance.
Presiding officers and other principal officers receive higher figures.
This does not include a monthly salary of N1m.
Senators collect over N30m as quarterly allowance and receive higher
salaries than their House counterparts.
Firstclass newsline learnt that the practice over time was for the
banks to compete among themselves to attract as many of the lawmakers
as possible to maintain the lawmakers' accounts.
"In the end, many lawmakers get loans in amounts ranging from N50m to
upward of N200m.
"They will be here for four years and it is understandable that the
banks see this as a window for quick returns," one National Assembly
official told a souRce.
However, investigations indicated that there were several cases of
lawmakers who failed to repay the loans before the expiration of their
tenure, leading to disputes between the two sides.
In 2011, a particular new generation bank withheld the severance
packages of many members and also seized their assets, owing to
failure to meet up with their loan obligations.
One marketer, who gave her name simply as Elina, told firstclass
newsline that there was nothing wrong with seeking for "investment
opportunities."
She argued that being new in Abuja, most of the members needed
information on sources of funding to assist them in settling down for
the business of legislation.
"We know how it is; there will be accommodation challenges.
"Some need funding for transportation even before they get their
official votes for vehicles and other support services.
"So, the banks are there to provide these support services by way of
funding," she added.
The National Assembly and its bureaucracy, including the National
Assembly Service Commission, has a total budget of N120bn this year.
The figure was a drop from the N150bn it had enjoyed since 2007.
Firstclassnewsline.net