EXCLUSIVE: Are Our Lawmakers Getting Paid For Work Not Done?

Since the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly on June 9, the lawmakers have embarked on recess three times having only sat for 15 days out of the 50 week days they have spent in office. By the time they resume on September 29, the 8th National Assembly would have been 16 weeks in office.

 

Saraki

Although the ongoing recess is a statutory annual vacation for legislators all over the World, Nigerians still question the rationale for the two previous vacations, especially having collected large sums as payment for “Work Not Done”.

According to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the 10% of the annual basic salary as provided in the 2007 report is retained for all the members of the National Assembly as recess allowance and shall be paid once in a year.

But just last month, the National Assembly budget was slashed from N150 billion to N120 billion which will in turn affect the salaries of the lawmakers.

Meanwhile, according to reports, the members of the Senate and House of Representatives  have received a huge allowance for the 6 weeks recess they embarked on from August 13. With the incessant recess, the average Nigerian views the payment as outrageous.

READ ALSO: National Assembly To Proceed On Recess Again

The minimum wage of an average worker in the country is N18, 000 though the National Labour Congress (NLC)  had hinted that it is developing a new wage bill as the current National Minimum wage since the old one is due for review.

Meanwhile, it would be recalled that before going on recess, the legislators had a stormy session over the move by the Senate leadership through the Committee on Review of Salaries of Legislators to reduce their salaries and allowances. The committee was asked to go back and do more work as the Senate could not reach an agreement after a 3 hour closed door executive session.

In the past, the 7th National Assembly was seen as a failure for the fact that they were paid N150 billion, but failed to pass very important bills like the Petroleum Industry Bill, the Electoral Act and the issues of the Constitutional Amendment into law.

On the contrary, the lawmakers debated about 10 bills before embarking on their annual recess on July 28, 2011. This is not the case of the 8th Assembly as 30 bills have been presented but no bills have been passed in two months although they have scaled through first reading.

Some of the bills introduced at the Senate are Nigerian Railway Corporation (Repeal & Re-enactment) Bill, 2015 and Federal Capital Territory Area Councils (Administrative and Political Structure) Bill 2015, both on June 23.

This poor performance of the 7th Assembly is the reason why the 8th Assembly is being blasted for how many recess they have taken since inauguration.

Reacting to this issue, Mr Foster Ogola, who is representing Bayelsa West senatorial district, explained that the lawmakers still work despite the fact that they are on recess.

“We have a number of days we are to sit in the year that is the law that is the constitution. Those who designed our salaries are mandated to do it. The RMAFC is there and if we are not working, how can a government body agree to pay us. Those are the people who regulate all the salaries of even the President. You heard of people who were summoning EFCC chairman to appear for hearing by the Public Petitions committee. Are we not on recess? As i am talking to you, i have gone back to Abuja since after the recess to continue work but people do not understand,” he said.

READ ALSO: How Much Senators, Reps Receive For Their Recess

The lawmaker, who further stated that he is a member of the Public finance committee, revealed that he was just served a paper to work on, saying: “If you go to my office, i can even forward to you courtesy calls. Assembly is on recess but we are working. Plenary is suspended does not mean oversight work is not going on,”he said.

Meanwhile, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), in his explanation said there is no justification to pay if the lawmakers are not working.

“If the National Assembly is on recess but they meet with the constitutional required number of sittings, there is nothing wrong to give them their entitlement,” he said.

He went ahead to say that the lawmakers have an expected number of times to sit every year so the failure to meet up with demands should be watched.

“But it is not yet the end of the year for us to evaluate the number of days required for them to sit for us to pass that judgment so we still have to be patient to wait for that to happen.

“I think the general sentiments that Nigerians are putting in the National Assembly is simple. Other countries in the world are not earning that amount unlike in Nigeria, it is important that the National Assembly begins to cut of some of these allowances and salaries so it will conform with the principles and practice that we see in other parts of the world. It is unthinkable that a country like America, Britain, South Africa that have a better economy than our own, their legislatures are not taking as much as they are taking.

“It is important that the legislatures understand the country and there is need for them to cut the cost of running government and allowances that are not justifiable and given the fact that the minimum wage is N18, 000, the professors and other professionals are not even taking up to 10% of what a fresh lawmaker will take.

“This is why we have electoral violence because people make it a do or die affair. I think the reality of Nigeria is that we do not have that type of careless money to throw around. It is best for us to put our monitoring mechanism on them and keep on reminding them know that Nigerians are watching. The thing is for us to be proactive and it’s no longer going to be business as usual” Rafsanjani said.

 

The post EXCLUSIVE: Are Our Lawmakers Getting Paid For Work Not Done? appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.