Nigerian lawmakers have opened up on their situation since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced fuel subsidy removal.
According to them, their monthly salary is no longer enough to meet their needs since the government stopped the payment of subsidy on the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol or fuel.
A member of the House of Representatives who pleaded not to be mentioned in the print as he was not authorized to speak disclosed that lawmakers are now demanding an upward review of their salaries and allowances.
He noted that the current economic situation in the country had affected them; hence they resolved during their last meeting held on July 11, to ask for a salary increase.
According to him, the complaints from members arising from salaries and allowances forced the House to go into executive session in order to douse tension in their last meeting.
Speculations earlier are that lawmakers demanded from the Speaker, Tajudeen Abass, the reason for the delay in the payment of their salaries and allowances, causing some of them to resort to loans.
Premium Times, however, quoted the lawmaker who gave details of the latest meeting, saying that they only spoke about a salary increase and not delayed payment.
The lawmaker said they only told the speaker that their salaries and allowances could no longer meet the demand of their job; hence a review was necessary.
“So nobody talked about any money or whether we have been paid or not,” the lawmaker explained.
The source stressed that their request was a sequel to the current hardship, a hike in the price of goods and services in the country following the removal of fuel subsidy.
The lawmaker said the House Speaker did not promise them anything on the review of their salaries and allowances because such demand could only be accommodated in the budget after due process.
According to him, Abbas told his colleagues that their demand for a review of their salaries and allowances was not in the 2023 budget, and he could not have promised anything at the moment.
Nigerian lawmakers are among the highest paid in the world, with the lowest-paid lawmaker reportedly earning over ten times the civil servant’s minimum wage. Apart from salaries, the allowances each lawmaker gets also run into millions of naira monthly.
The proposal by RMAFC of a 100 per cent increase in salaries of lawmakers had been condemned by many Nigerians forcing President Bola Tinubu to announce that he had yet to approve such an increase.
