Federal Lawmakers Blame Journalists For Their Woes

Federal lawmakers in Nigeria have blamed the news media for a turbulent four-year legislature session that ended recently.

Outgoing members of the House of Representatives said journalists gave the public a poor perception of the lower chamber by over-reporting corruption charges against them.

The House has faced several allegations of fraud more than the Senate since 2007.

Its first female speaker, Patricia Etteh, was forced to resign shortly after taking office for allegedly renovating her residence with N648million. Her replacement, Dimeji Bankole, has repeatedly been linked with accusations of fraud.

Lawmakers said the news media hyped the events to taint the image of the chamber for four years. Minority leader, Femi Gbajabiamila said “most of the problems of the house in the past four years were caused by the media”.