The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has issued a strong call to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, urging them to disclose the exact monthly running costs allocated to Nigeria National Assembly members.
SERAP is also demanding the immediate end of the alleged practice of lawmakers fixing their own salaries, allowances, and running costs, which the organization argues violates the Nigerian Constitution and international anti-corruption obligations.
In a letter dated August 17, 2024, SERAP emphasized, “We are concerned about the practice by the lawmakers of fixing their salaries, allowances, and running costs, and the opacity in the spending of millions of naira in running costs by lawmakers.” The organization further stated, “The constitutional oath of office of lawmakers requires them to ensure transparency and accountability in the exact amounts of salaries, allowances, and running costs they receive.”
SERAP insisted that the practice of paying running costs into personal accounts must end and that any misuse or mismanagement of these funds should be referred to the appropriate anti-corruption agencies. “It is a travesty and a fundamental breach of their fiduciary duties for members of the National Assembly to fix their own salaries, allowances, and running costs,” the letter read.
The organization also warned, “We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and other members of the National Assembly to comply with our request in the public interest.”
The call follows recent revelations from Senator Kawu Sumaila, representing Kano South Senatorial District, who disclosed in an interview with BBC Hausa, “My monthly salary is less than N1 million. After deductions, the figure comes down to a little over N600,000. Given the increase effected, in the Senate, each senator gets N21 million every month as running cost.” Former President Olusegun Obasanjo also recently alleged that lawmakers have been setting their own compensation, contrary to the recommendations of the Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC).
SERAP’s statement highlighted the importance of upholding the rule of law and ensuring that public resources are managed transparently and in the public interest, emphasizing, “Nigerians have a right to scrutinize how their lawmakers spend their tax money and the commonwealth,” the statement ended.
