The House of Representatives is in the news again over non-fulfillment of their 50% salary donation to ameliorate the biting economic hardship endured by constituents.
The House of Representatives has failed to implement its promise to donate 50% of their salary as part of their contributions to cushion the economic hardship suffered by constituents.
Recall that members in the green chamber passed a resolution on July 18, 2024, to donate 50% of their salaries for next six months to their constituents commencing from the month of July. The lawmakers had made the promise during consideration of a motion seeking to forestall the nationwide hunger protest which began on August 1, 2024. The motion of urgent importance, sponsored by the lawmaker representing Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency, Ogun State, Rep. Ibrahim Isiaka, was titled: “an appeal to the proponents of the proposed nationwide protest, to maintain peace, eschew violence and open windows for meaningful engagements with the governments at all levels in order to address their issues.”
The spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Rep. Akin Rotimi, Jr. in a press statement made available to journalists on Friday attributed the failure to keep the pledge to bureaucratic bottlenecks.
The statement reads as follows: “It has come to our notice that some media outlets are reporting claims of discrepancies in the salaries of Members of the House of Representatives, suggesting that we received 100% of our July salaries, amounting to N936,979, despite pledging to donate 50% of N600,000 for six months to efforts to ameliorate the conditions of our constituents.
He also clarified that “the actual monthly salary for Honourable Members is N600,000, after deductions for advances such as housing, which are paid at the commencement of the tenure. The Honourable Member who displayed his salary on a TV programme is an exceptional case, as he assumed office through a court decision many months after the on-boarding process was concluded.
“The House of Representatives remains committed to the resolution passed on July 18, 2024, which mandates a 50 percent reduction in the salaries of Honourable Members for six months. We acknowledge and regret that this resolution was not implemented by the bureaucracy as intended for the month of July. Resolutions of the House are ratified when the votes and proceedings of plenary are adopted on the next legislative day. Consequently, the bureaucracy was only formally instructed on July 23, 2024.
“This delay in implementation was thus due to necessary administrative procedures and coordination with financial institutions. Instructions for adjusting salaries have since been issued and will be enforced moving forward to ensure our pledge is fully realised. There was nothing to investigate, as some media houses reported, as the House’s position on this matter had been provided to some journalists who had reached out for clarification. We appreciate your patience and assure you of our steadfast adherence to our pledge, and sustained efforts to earn the trust and confidence of all Nigerians.”
