Legislators’ Pay: Nigerians Express Divergent Views

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A cross-section of Nigerians on Friday expressed divergent views over disagreement among senators to approve pay cut in their emolument as recommended by the Senate’ Committee on Finance.
The Senate had on Wednesday, suspended consideration of the Sen. James Manager’s committee’s report following disagreement by members on its recommendation of a slash in their remuneration.
Some of those who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) supported the move for downward review of the salaries and allowances of the lawmakers while others queried the rationale behind the proposal.
Mr Peter Abraham, a lecturer at the National Open University of Nigeria, said that contrary to public perceptions, what the legislators earned was nothing near what those in the Executive arm of government earned.
“I wonder why Nigerians are always quick to cast aspersion on the pay of the National Assembly members and legislators in states’ Houses of Assembly.
“If you know what the president and his aides, ministers, governors and even local government council chairmen earn, you will know that legislators are less corrupt.
“Just look at the fraud called Security Vote; nobody knows what the executives allocate to themselves as security votes and you wonder what they are even securing.
“The whole security vote is shrouded in secrecy. Also, these executives sometimes have bogus aides called special advisers, special assistants, senior special advisers, senior special assistants, who do nothing.
“It is in this country that some state governors had 3,000 special advisers that they don’t even know and who did nothing other than collect monthly salaries,” he said.
•Bukola Saraki
Ms Taire Nwachukwu, a staff member of a commercial bank, said that the pay cut should be across the board among the executive, legislative and the judiciary arms of government.
“I work at the bank and what we see about the way these governors, ministers and even council chairmen move …Read More

Source:: PM Newspaper