By Ifeoma Ononye Lagos
It was the least Nigerians expected to become the biggest issue for national discourse. If anything should be at the front burner at this time, Nigerians feel it should be salient matters affecting their daily living. Hence, it was not surprising to see the various reactions that has greeted the information about what the 469 federal lawmakers in the National Assembly would earn for making laws. The media was awash on Tuesday that a whooping sum of N9billion will be set aside for the lawmakers as wardrobe allowance aside other allowances in their take home pay.
The said amount earmarked as wardrobe allowance immediately sparked reactions across Nigeria. The social media was buzzing, and in no time, a hashtag, OccupyNASS was already trending across the lenght and breath of the country. Nigerian in Diaspora also joined the debate, for and against.
Lawyers and civil society groups are divided on the issue. However majority submit that the amount is outrageous going by the present economic reality where civil servants are being owed salaries for many months due to dwindling oil revenue.
Investigation as at the time the information was made public revealed that the N9billion already set aside for wardrobe allowance of members of the 8th National Assembly would be paid into their individual bank accounts latest by next week on the basis of N17.5 million for each of the 360 members of the House of Representatives and N 21.5 million for each of the 109 Senators.
A Break Down
The wardrobe allowance like furniture and vehicle allowance is meant for the entire four year tenure of the 469 federal lawmakers as against Housing allowance that is given on yearly basis.
Housing allowance for the political office holders is 200 per cent of their annual salaries; furniture is 300 per cent and motor vehicle loan is 400 per cent.
Specifically 107 senators aside the Senate President according to our source would be paid N4, 052,800 million as housing allowance. They will also be paid the same amount every year because the housing allowance is on annual basis.
That means that 107 senators will be paid a total of N433, 649,600m as housing allowance annually since both the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President are provided accommodation by the Federal Government.
More so, each member of the House of Representatives will be paid N3, 970,425 as housing allowance on assumption of office.
That meant that the 358 representatives will be collecting a total of N1, 421,412,150 as housing allowance. Again, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives are excluded from this allowance as the Federal Government is to provide their own accommodation.
For furniture, each of the senators was said to get N6, 079,200. The furniture for both the Senate President and his deputy are to be fully provided by the government. This also meant that 107 senators will get a total of N650, 474,400 as furniture allowance. Furniture allowance is paid once in four years.
Each member of the House of Representatives will be paid N5, 955,637.50 as furniture allowance. This means that 358 representatives (excluding the speaker and his deputy) will collect a total of N2, 132,118,225 for furniture.
It was also gathered that for vehicle allowances each of the senators is entitled to N8, 105,600 while each representative is entitled to N7, 940,850.50. This means that 107 senators will collect N867, 299,200 for vehicle while 358 representatives will collect N2, 842,824,479 for the same purpose.
The Controversy
The 8th assembly may have thought things through after assessing people’s disturbing views about the allowance that made them rescind the amount from the N 21.5 million for each of the 109 Senators to N506, 600 per month.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, made the announcement that the wardrobe allowance for each senator has been pegged at N506, 600 per month.
Saraki took to his twitter handle in reaction to the backlash he and his colleagues have been receiving to say that the Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) had come out to clarify the matter.
He stated that it is the sole responsibility of RMFAC to fix allowances of political office holders. “Fixing of remuneration of political office holders is the sole responsibility of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation& Fiscal Commission,” he tweeted.
However, the Senate President stated that the fixing of the allowance was done by RMFAC in line with the economic reality of the country. “With the current challenges we are facing as a nation, RMFAC will be reviewing allowances to reflect the current economic trend,” he said.
He further stated that the allowances would be published on the RMFAC website for people to see and be informed about the exact figures. “I have just been informed that RMFAC will be publishing details of allowances on their website,” Saraki said in the report stated.
Even with the amount was reduced; the current amount that was disclosed by the senate president is still generating controversy from prominent lawyers and civil groups.
Out of Touch with Reality
Expressing sadness over the jumbo allowance, Social Critic and Legal Practitioner, Emmanuel Oyati, said that it is a pity that Nigeria is such a strange country where many ridiculous things happen. He said that it was absurd that people who have put themselves forward for the service of their fatherland would take advantage of the people in such a callous way, adding that while the people were swimming in poverty, those they elected to fight to their improve lives have gone to line their pockets, even to the detriment of the electorate.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
He, however, blamed such absurdities on the system and the people who have allowed such lapses to thrive.
On whether fixing such huge wardrobe allowance at a like this when the country’s economy was having some crisis as a result of drop in oil revenue and at a time Nigerians are clamouring for change from the old ways of doing things, the legal practitioner said that that showed the insensitivity of our representatives.
He urged our leaders to look at the lives of other world leaders like former President of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, and President Clinton of the United States, who were leaders of their various countries but still led modest lives.
He said that it was abnormal to find someone who was a nobody yesterday suddenly becoming an overnight millionaire because he has joined politics, adding that while seeking political positions in other climes was for service, the situation here was, unfortunately, different as our politicians saw it as a way to acquire wealth and power.
He said that it was callous for the legislators to have such an amount as wardrobe allowance while those who elected them to the office are going about virtually naked due to the grinding poverty in the land. He added, however, that “it is understood when one works in a private company and the company provides uniform for such an employee. But when people have chosen to come and serve and expect the people to clothe them, especially to the tune of N9billion, it is wicked.
“All these contribute to make the Presidential system of government very expensive, which is why I have always supported the call go back to the cabinet system.”
On whether he feels that people were not raising unnecessary dust over the issue, he said that was not correct, as the controversy over our lawmakers’ remuneration had always been there without anybody telling Nigerians the clear truth.
He said that there are professors in the country who could not afford as little as N5,000 to solve a problem at a very critical time but “you see some people who have done next to nothing changing cars and spending money lavishly because they have joined politics.”
(Daily independent)
