The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, mentioned that the salaries of federal lawmakers are not enough for them to live on.
In an interview with ChannelsTV on Monday night, Kalu emphasized that the average lawmaker’s pay is much lower than what people think.
He urged people to understand that cutting their salary by 50% is not the solution to the issue at hand.
“At the moment, talking about the salary of the National Assembly. I have said this over and again, it is not as much as people think. Salary is different from allowance, which is meant to do the jobs our constituents have sent us to do,” Kalu said.
“Nobody is allowed to touch allowances. It is the salary that belongs to you. Allowances have no subheadings for which they are made for. If you use it wrongly, when you are retiring it, you will be sanctioned for that.
“So talking about the salaries of the National Assembly, it is a far cry from what is supposed to be. And I can assure you that even if we reduce it by 50 per cent or 80 per cent, it will not really impact what the Nigerian lawmakers should be earning, which does not go in tandem with the economic situation of the country.
“I can assure you that based on economic indices at the moment, inflation rate and the rest of them, the amount members of the National Assembly receive cannot actually take them home to do their their jobs in their various constituencies.
“Considering the cost of transport, running constituency offices and the number of maintaining aides who are supposed to have you achieve what the mandate of that office demands, it is not a discussion that will add value to the crisis we are faced with.
“But I can assure you they will be willing to adjust. If that is what will move Nigeria to the next level, why not? After all, we did not send ourselves there. We were voted in by the constituents.”
The Abia politician commended President Bola Tinubu for bravely ordering the complete implementation of the 2012 recommendations from the Steve Oronsaye panel.
Tinubu instructed the formation of a committee to carry out mergers, scrapping, and relocations of the 541 parastatals, commissions, and agencies owned by the Federal Government within a 12-week timeframe.
Kalu said: “Like you rightly pointed out, you mentioned cutting cost of governance. This shows that when you look at the President’s body language and determination, he is intentional about reducing the cost of running the government. If he’s not, he will not be looking for that document.
“I want to thank him for (that) because some of the issues mentioned in that report, we are going to use them as source materials for the work we are doing on Constitution review. And we’re happy that Mr President is forward thinking for him to embrace that report.
“He means well for Nigeria, especially during this period when we are facing a lot of challenges. In reducing the cost of running government, the need for it cannot be overemphasised,” he added.
Allub Times recalls that former Senator Shehu Sani disclosed that Nigerian senators receive more than N13 million monthly for running costs.
This amount does not include their monthly salaries, allowances, and other benefits like expensive cars at the start of a new assembly. Sani also mentioned that members of the House of Representatives earn slightly less than senators.
