Senators' monthly allowances should be reduced from N15m to N1.5m - Oyebola

Senators' monthly allowances should be reduced from N15m to N1.5m - Oyebola

- Chief Areoye Oyebola claimed that the a Nigerian senator earns more than the American president

- He claimed that the American president earns $400,000 a year while a Nigerian senator earns $1.7 million per year

- He advised that the senators' allowances should be reduced by 10%

The chairman, Movement for Nigeria’s Total Transformation, Chief Areoye Oyebola, has condemned the refusal of the Nigerian Senate to review its high allowances.

Oyebola argued that despite the poverty in Nigerian, a senator or even a member of the House of Representatives earns more than the president of the United States of America and the UK prime minister, Punch reports.

He said: “It is also strange, unthinkable and very disheartening that a senator, not minding the grinding poverty of Nigerians, earns $1.7m a year, which is far higher than the $400,000 yearly income of the United States’ president, whose stupendous country is the richest in the world. Even a member of the House of Representatives also earns more than the American President. What a tragic and pathetic situation!

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“Worse still, each of our National Assembly members earns more than the British Prime Minister, while the pay of a member of Ghana’s unicameral legislature is a very small fraction of our House of Representatives’ member jumbo pay of more than N10m in a month, let alone the monumental quarterly allowances that have led to serious public outcry.

“The multi-million naira earned by the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives even worse, more outrageous and mind-boggling."

He proposed that the allowances of all public office holder, including that of the president be reduced to 10% of the current earning.

He said: “As suggested below, for the National Assembly, the President, ministers, state governors, state legislators, chairmen of local governments and councillors should have their pay and allowances reduced to 10 per cent of their present earnings.

"If effected, each senator’s present earnings of N15m a month will be reduced to N1.5m or N18m a year. A similar 90 per cent reduction should be effected from the pay of members of the House of Representatives.”

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Nigerian Senate has resolved to ensure that the executive arm of government does not embark on selective implementation of the 2017 budget.

This was contained in the report of the red chambers' joint committee on appropriations and finance laid on the floor of the upper chamber today, Thursday, October 5.

The Senate noted that the review in the budget year should not affect 60% of the 2017 budget.

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Source: Legit.ng

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