Lawmakers get anti-graft directive to make allowance public

Lawmakers get anti-graft directive to make allowance public
Confidence Ijeh, Lagos

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has asked members of the National Assembly to publicly declare their salaries and allowances.

The Chairman of the agency, Farida Waziri, who made the demand at a one-day interactive session for the newly inaugurated lawmakers at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, said that would be the only way the lawmakers would regain public trust, which was lost on suspicion that they earn extravagant pay, illegally.

"Our expectation from the seventh National Assembly is that they should raise the bar on public probity and accountability by making public their salaries and allowances. This will ensure that the rumour mill about their salaries and allowances is cancelled," she said.

Reactions

The chairman of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the commission responsible for setting allowances and salaries for public servants, Elias Mbam, however, denied knowledge of the said extravagant pay the lawmakers receive.

He stressed that RMAFC does not have any information on other emoluments and allowances the lawmakers take home, besides what was approved for them by his commission.

He said: "The speculations in the public that lawmakers collected between 10 million  Naira and 15 million Naira were strange to the commission."

A constitutional lawyer, Mohammed Sani Hauwa, supported the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s call, saying that making public their salaries and allowances was necessary for accountability and transparency in governance.

Ensuring accountabilty

He said it was also necessary to cut down the enormous allowances of the lawmakers in other to cater for infrastructural developments. He said such amount that would be realised would be enough for the country to put most infrastructures in place.

Hauwa said that with the economic situation of the country, it was improper for those allowances and salaries to be maintained by the National Assembly.

The constitutional lawyer also added that if the high pay was reduced, it would go a long way to reduce politicians interest of do or die politics and ensure that only those that have meaningful service would be attracted to the National Assembly.

“There is need to slash  so that  at least those who have something to offer will aspire to go to the National Assembly , for now the payment is the in thing , they are on the rush irrespective of the fact that the person that is aspiring has something to offer or not,” he said.

Governor of the Apex Bank, Sanusi Lamido, had last year said that lawmakers consume 25 per cent of Nigeria’s overhead budget.

The National Assembly denied that claim.

Williams