Some senior legal practitioners, political scientists and pressure groups in the country Thursday traded political brickbats on the jumbo pay for Senators, insisting that Nigerians must get to the root of the controversy.
They were reacting to the statement of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, that only the management of National Assembly Service Commission, NASC, could explain how the monthly salaries and allowances of each Senator, which is N1.063 million jumped to N13.5 million as running cost.
Those who spoke on the matter included Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, former Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, President; Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN; Mr. Femi Falana, SAN; Dr Kayode Ajulo, University of Lagos lecturer, Mr Wahab Shittu; his Lagos State University counterpart, Dr Gbenga Ojo; and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP.
Dr. Agbakoba said: “The law must take its course. So, I expect the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, to proceed to court as this act of the senators is unlawful, inexcusable and unconstitutional.”
RMAFC has to do more than washing off hands – Falana
In his reaction, Femi Falana said: “It is not sufficient for the RMAFC to wash off its hands like Pontius Pilate. Since it has been exclusively empowered by Section 70 of the Constitution to fix the salaries and allowances of legislators the commission should proceed to ask the court to stop the illegal payment and recover the illegal pay.
“Once again, the nation should be thankful to Senator Shehu Sani for exposing the illegal payment of jumbo pay for legislators. The commission should proceed to ask the court to stop the illegal payment and recover all funds that have been illegally collected by the legislators. After all, the commission once sued the executive under President Olusegun Obasanjo over some constitutional aberrations.”
We must cut cost of governance – Ozekhome
Ozekhome, who called for the abolition of the bicameral legislative system in Nigeria, which he described as too expensive to run, said there was need to cut down on government expenses at all levels, stressing that aside members of the National Assembly, governors and ministers also collect undisclosed jumbo allowances.
However, he said the RMAFC, being a body under the Executive, may not have the powers to scrutinize emoluments of lawmakers.
His words: “The NASS is one of the three arms of government- the other two are the Executive and the Judiciary. Each of these arms of government is constitutionally provided for, with its powers, limits jurisdiction and duties, no one arm can detect to the other arm as to how it runs itself.
“The NASS has a first line charge on our national coffers and once money has been paid into revenue account under Section 162, the money from there goes to the state government, the federal government and to the local government.
“It is from that of the federal government that the NASS, as an arm of government shares, just like the judiciary shares. The RMAFC is to set standards as to how much public officers should receive. It sets standard as to salaries, but generally it does not set standards as to allowances and emoluments.
“For example, we know how much Ministers receive, but nobody can really say for sure how much they receive as allowances or emoluments of office. We know how much a Governor is supposed to receive, but we know that through the so-called security votes, the governors appropriate, better to say misappropriate a lot of funds to themselves in the name under the guise of security vote, and nobody talks about them.
“While I am not supporting the jumbo pay of the NASS if what Senator Sani said is true that each Senator goes home with about N13.5 million per month, I want to caution that we should also have a breakdown of the N13.5 million. Does it include salaries for aides that they themselves had approved? Because the NASS has its own Commission, they have their own legislative school/institution to run.
“They have their own big bureaucracy to run. Does this N13.5m just given to the Senators em bloc every month to say this is your money? Or, is it allocated and then paid out as salaries of staff, traveling allowance, wardrobe allowances, drivers’/stewards’ salaries? Because all these things that I have mentioned are also enjoyed by Ministers, Governors and even by Commissioners, I do not like a particular arm of government to be rubbished or scapegoated.
“I think Senator Sani my good friend should give a total breakdown of this N13.5m, what is it meant for? Is it salary, we heard the salary is about N1million, what are the remaining funds meant for? Is it for constituency projects or is the fund for that one different? We can have a responsible and reasonable national discourse on this matter. We need to know the details. Why should a Senator take home N13.5 million every month, what is it for?”
There is a legal lacuna – Ajulo
Also, Mr. Kayode Ajulo, constitutional lawyer and former National Secretary of the Labour Party, said there was a lacuna in the law that made it possible for lawmakers to pocket jumbo allowances without checks.
“I think there is a lacuna in the sense that the Nigerian constitution recognised that there are three organs of government, the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. The RMAFC is an Executive body.
As it is today, we have independence for all of them when it comes to their funding. The question we should ask is, can RMAFC extend its powers to oversee or discuss to consider the form the money accruable is used to fund the NASS, being a separate entity particularly when you talk of independence of the arms of government?
“The question again is: where is the source of funding of the NASS? Are they one of those on front line charge? I don’t know what RMAFC is saying, especially when a sitting Senator, a well known one has come forward to say this is the amount we receive and all the Senators concurred with him.
“The question here is not whether it is wrong or permissible, that is another thing. Are we now going to say that the NASS must operate according to what RMAFC approved? That is the lacuna that we need to I clear, which is why we talk about restructuring. As it is, Nigeria is being run like a voodoo, the more you look the less you see.”
RMAFC has constitutional power to fix senators’ pay – Shittu
Mr Shittu, said: “The Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission is constitutionally charged with the responsibility of fixing the remuneration of all public officers. The remuneration appropriated without the consent of the body is ultra vires, unconstitutional and illegal. The Senators are acting illegally and could be compelled through due process to refund to the coffers of the state the remuneration collected in excess of the funds approved by the RMAFC.
RMAFC disclosure amounts to a conspiracy – Ojo
Dr Gbenga Ojo of the Lagos State University said: “RMAFC’s silence till this time before coming out to inform Nigerians about the senators’ salary is a pure conspiracy. If they are claiming ignorance of what they are receiving, that is far from the truth. RMAFC is culpable for saying that it is not aware that the Senators earn more than what is statutorily appropriated for them.
”Now, the matter is not a legal one. The body has to make recommendations to the Senate on the implications of receiving salary above what is appropriated for them. Beside, the body should advertise what each of them earn and through the advertisement, Nigerians will be able to tackle them. The public opinion will force them out of their holes and do what is needful.”
Senators must return illegal allowances – SERAP
In its reaction, SERAP sought voluntary return of ‘illegal running costs, allowances’ by National Assembly members and urged Senate President Dr Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara to “persuade their members to voluntarily return running costs and other allowances so far collected, and now declared as illegal by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, and to use any returned funds to establish a trust fund to improve investment in education and health.”
SERAP in a statement by its Deputy Director, Timothy Adewale said: “Under the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the National Assembly cannot use its appropriation power for personal gain of lawmakers. The revelation that the National Assembly unilaterally increased their own allowances and running costs without any regard to due process of law constitutes a flagrant abuse of governmental powers for personal gain.”
According to the organization, “The National Assembly would never be able to check abuses of power by the executive or perform important oversight functions if the lawmakers are looking after themselves rather than standing up for the citizens.”
The statement read in part: “A trust fund can supply health aid, educational support, economic empowerment, dignity and overall improved social welfare of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged sectors of the population. This proposed trust fund can serve as one of the strategies for addressing the escalating crisis in our educational and health sectors, something which Bill Gates has discussed with the Nigerian authorities.”
