A move by representatives to donate 50% of their salaries in response to the nationwide protest appears to be no more than window dressing
Members of the House of Representatives have announced a 50% cut off their salaries for the next 6 months. This decision comes as immediate response to the nationwide hunger protest. It also comes just in the nick of time as inflation and cost of living are on a sharp rise leaving citizens more distressed by the hour.
To show their concern for constituents, the lawmakers have decided to sacrifice half of their salaries to lessen the economic hardship currently ravaging the country. The announcement, made days before the strike commenced, was also expected to curtail the looming nationwide protest.
Protest plea motion and salaries’ slash…
The resolution on the salaries’ slash was reached after Rep. Ibrahim Isiaka (APC, Ogun) moved a motion of urgent public importance during a plenary on Thursday, 18th of July, 2024. The motion had addressed the need to avert looming nationwide protests over economic hardship. Rep. Isiaka advised that the change Nigerians desire would not happen overnight and called for patience, perseverance, and a commitment to working together towards achieving the communal goal. Responding to the motion, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu (APC, Abia) suggested pay cuts as a worthy sacrifice the legislators should make for the next six months. “This government is doing its best, but one year is not enough to address the challenges of this country. I want to plead with our colleagues to sacrifice 50 per cent for a period of six months. Our salary is N600,000 a month. I want to plead that we let go of 50 per cent of our salary for a period of six months,” he pleaded. The Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas (APC, Kaduna), who presided over the session, conducted a voice vote on the suggestion which was carried. The House accordingly announced that the resolution would be communicated to all relevant stakeholders and the general public to promote a peaceful and constructive approach to addressing national issues.
Secrecy on salaries and allowances remain…
While the gesture of the representatives is noble on the face of it, it however set off fresh debates about the secercy surrounding the earnings of members of the national assembly. Since the current 4th republic, much of the scandal and bad press of the federallegislature has centred on how much the members and senators receive as salaries and allowances monthly. The speculations were addressed somewhat in 2018 when Shehu Sani, a former senator from Kaduna State came under fire after he revealed that he and his colleagues received N13.5 million as running cost each month. He affirmed that the running cost was in addition to the over N700,000 monthly consolidated salary each senator got monthly, adding that there was no specification on what the funds were meant for, rather each lawmaker was required to provide receipts to back up their expenses. He also spoke on constituency projects, saying “the constituency project itself is given on a zonal basis and almost every senator will go with a constituency fund of about N200 million, but it is not the cash that is given to you. You will be told that you have N200 million with an agency of government for which you will now submit projects equivalent to that amount. And it is that agency of government that will go and do those projects for you.” He expressed his reasons for rocking the boat: “I would love a situation where we do away with running costs, constituency projects and leaves senators and members of House of Reps with salaries. When people are elected into the National Assembly, they should just be involved in law making, raising motions, bills and also performing oversight functions. But we live in a society where people cannot differentiate between the legislators and the executive.” While these revelation earned Sani commendations from various quarters, it also attracted some backlash from his colleagues who deemed such revelations pointless.
The controversy over salaries and allowances of lawmakers bopped up a year earlier when then speaker of the house, Yakubu Dogara sparred with then Kaduna state governor, Nasir El Rufai. The later had stirred the debate by calling for accountability in the National Assembly and requested them to provide further details on the opaque N115 billion annual budget. “It is in the national assembly’s interest to actually publish its budget because there are rumours of bogus amounts of money that they are getting which I do not believe is true. This N100 billion or so budget of the national assembly is money belonging to the people of Nigeria and every Nigerian has the right to ask and I am exercising that right as a citizen not even as a governor,” he had explained. In a quick retort, Dogara had called out governors to publish their security votes. He also released his pay slip which revealed that he earned a gross income of N402,500 monthly.
Recently, Dogara made headlines on the matter when revealed that his monthly salary was N400,000 whereas his allowance as speaker was N25, 000,000. He spoke at the legislative open week held in Abuja on July 3rd, 2024, stressing that the allowance hardly lasted three days due to high demands from constituents and intense pressures on lawmakers. He thereafter called for accountability and transparency from the National Assembly on the inflow and usage of funds. “I think it is time to throw this challenge open to citizens without hiding anything. Not that the National Assembly is hiding anything. The reason why they keep hitting at this soft spot is because those doing this know that institutions such as those of the National Assembly will be ineffective when subjected to public scorn” he said.
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50% slash and more calls for transparency…
The slashed salaries by representatives may not cut the impression they anticipate. This is because there have been various calls for the remuneration of lawmakers to be reviewed downwards, none of which has been yielded to till this moment. In 2023, Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had recommended a 50% cut in salaries and allowances of political office holders and members of the National Assembly due to economic hardship. He made this recommendation via a live broadcast where he explained that Nigeria’s governance system places service for personal gains above service for the country. He also stated that the country’s governance culture encourages extravagance among political leaders and appointees despite the hardship in the nation. Like Moghalu, Nigerians from differemt quarters have called for a reduction in lawmakers remuneration over the years. These calls have gone unheeded and it is quite intriguing that the lawmakers are taking the initiative at this crucial point in the nation’s history. Previously, diverse lawmakers have been against the slashes at various times claiming that their salaries aren’t even enough.
No yielding on luxury SUVs…
To perform their duties,lawmakers often include diverse purchases in the national assembly budget such as the exotic vehicles which raised some eyebrows in 2023 when they embarked on the purchase of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for so-called operational purposes. A statement released by Rep. Akin Rotimi (APC, Ekiti), spokesman of the House, had explained that the purchase of the 360 exotic vehicles was in accordance with extant laws and not alien to the National Assembly. “This development is in accordance with extant procurement laws and has been the practice in previous assemblies. It is also not peculiar to the Legislature, as unelected government officials in the Executive arm of government from the Director level and above, in most cases, have official vehicles attached to their offices.” the statement read.
But what is the slash really worth?
Each month, every lawmaker in the House of Representatives is entitled to a basic salary of #600,000 coupled with other allowances not fully disclosed. The House is made up of 360 members from each of the federal constituencies and the projected amount to be realised from this pay cut could be up to N108,000,000 each month totalling into N648,000,000 for 6 months. Another question being raised is the modus for the salaries’ slash and how it would benefit the populace.
This is the question on the lips of many following the announcement by the lawmakers who said the money saved from the 50% salary cut would be used to support the federal government’s efforts to address the rising cost of food items in the country. While these details are awaited, the slash is a pointer to the fact that lawmakers share in the concerns of the citizens and are committed to making things work. Nevertheless, it is not a smooth sailing as the total amount to be saved is only a fraction of the national budget and its reach and impact will be limited. Also considering the short timeframe of the slashes, the impact may not be sustained.
Reactions trailing the slashed salaries…
Deputy spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese (APC, Benue) has affirmed that the lawmakers will uphold their promise to Nigerians and ensure this will be the last time the country goes through such hardship. He said this in an interview with correspondents in Abuja recently. “Hardships speak in a universal language, their language is the same across the country and as a parliament, we are going to leave no stone unturned to address the hardship. I strongly believe that with our legislative agenda as a parliament, this is going to be the last time in the country that we will be discussing palliatives. We will ensure that we work day and night to ensure we go through this hardship and hunger for the last time,” he said.
However, citizens on the X social media platform do not seem to share the same sentiments with the lawmakers as they have taken to their accounts to ask cogent questions and cry foul on the magnanimous effort of the lawmakers.
Where do we go from here?
It is not enough to declare a slash in the salaries as there is also a need for proper accountability. Lawmakers need to be transparent in their dealings henceforth. Nigerians need to be carried along with each processes of these voluntary pay cut. There is an urgent demand for efficient follow up to ensure that the slash is implemented. Nigerians need to know how much is being realised from the pay cut monthly and where the funds is being channelled to.
Considering the state of the country, this gesture by the lawmakers should be accompanied by other comprehensive efforts to cushion the hardship in the country and not just be a one-off relief measure.
