The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has stated that the current salaries of federal lawmakers are insufficient. In an interview with ChannelsTV on Monday night, Kalu clarified that the take-home pay of the average lawmaker is much lower than what people assume.
Kalu emphasized that reducing lawmakers’ salaries by 50% is not the solution to the current problem. He called for an understanding, saying that the allowances are meant to do the jobs their constituents have sent them to do and that nobody is allowed to touch them. If used wrongly, they will be sanctioned for that.
He further stated that the salaries of the National Assembly are far lower than what is supposed to be. Even if they were reduced by 50% or 80%, it would not impact the lawmakers’ earnings, which do not go in tandem with the economic situation of the country.
He asserted that lawmakers’ salaries, considering the cost of transport, running constituency offices, maintaining aides, and achieving what the mandate of that office demands, cannot actually take them home.
Kalu also praised President Bola Tinubu’s courage to order the full implementation of the 2012 recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye panel. He thanked him for cutting the cost of running the government, which is vital during this period of facing a lot of challenges.
Former Senator Shehu Sani had earlier revealed that Nigerian senators receive over N13 million monthly for running cost. This amount, according to Sani, excluded their monthly salaries, allowances and other perks such as multimillion-naira cars at the beginning of a new assembly. Sani, however, said that lawmakers in the House of Representatives earn a little less than their colleagues in the Senate.