It is clearly and evidently unsustainable, and in fact unfair, inequitable, and unjust to Nigerians at large, and a heavy burden on the volatile Nigerian economy; to continue to spend billions of Naira monthly, equivalent to millions of U S Dollars on the personnel and other costs of the Federal legislators and the National Assembly. This is more so, considering the fact that the other Arms of Government, most especially the judiciary, may not be paying their top politicians, political appointees, and other top government functionaries even a fraction of what the Legislators are being paid. And herein lies the unfairness, inequity, and injustice!
It is indeed unbecoming for Nigeria to continue to “subsidize” and continuously pay the Federal Legislators or Members of the National Assembly — namely, the Senators and Members of the Federal House of Representatives — monthly total remunerations and emoluments and net “take home pay” of between 15 million and 30 million Naira each, and even more! To add more insult to injury, the legislators just very recently unpatriotically and arrogantly rebuffed the purchase and allocation of brand new actually good enough Made-In-Nigeria official vehicles for them, preferring prohibitively expensive exotic luxury foreign cars costing many times more than the equally very good Nigerian-Made cars manufactured by the enterprising indigenous Innoson Motor Company.
These legislators’ bogus remunerations, emoluments, and “packages” are even more unfair, unjust, inequitable, and tantamount to crass injustice; when one considers the fact that on the other extreme, the minimum wage for workers in Nigeria is a paltry sum of between 18,000 Naira and 30,000 naira. It is noteworthy that even before the recent upward review in principle, of the minimum wage by the federal government from 18,000 Naira to 30,000 Naira, many states nationwide have been unable to pay the former minimum wage of only 18,000 Naira. The upward review of the minimum wage to 30,000 Naira by the federal government towards the end of 2018 is apparently only in principle.
It is therefore reasonably expected that even many more states in the country may be unable to pay the new minimum wage of 30,000 Naira. Even at the federal level, it is logically to be expected that some federal organizations may not be able to pay the new minimum wage, at least initially, until more funds for personnel costs become more available to the organizations concerned. Worse so, it has been a perennial problem that in some states, local governments, and even some federal establishments nationwide, there have been a backlog of unpaid salary arrears, especially for workers at the junior levels down to minimum wage earners and ad-hoc and casual workers and labourers, for months to up to one whole year! Lamentably, a good or rather really “bad” example of such unfortunate trend is the case of Kogi State, and other States nationwide, perhaps too numerous to mention.
One now wonders how therefore, such affected states concerned, especially and in particular, and all state governments in general, would be realistically able to pay their minimum wage earners this new upwardly reviewed minimum wage salary of 30,000 Naira. Yet, on the other extreme, you have our legislators “earning” not only up to 1,000 times the new national minimum wage, and almost 2,000 times the former national minimum wage; but indeed promptly paid as at when due, very much unlike the very poor fellow Nigerian citizens and masses of minimum wage earners! What crass injustice! What “over capitalism”! What a striking inequitable contrast!
Moreover, it was the federal legislators themselves who initially fixed, and continue to fix their salaries, wages, and allowances, apparently with little or no regard at all for, or at least in conflict with, or overlooking the statutory federal body charged with that responsibility, i.e., the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). Their remunerations and emoluments continue to be rather arbitrarily fixed by them and always in contention at the beginning of every four-year legislative term, or even yearly. The legislators are always preoccupied with increasing, upwardly reviewing their emoluments always, as well as their “packages”. These include provision of exotic foreign cars to each of them, and the now controversial constituency project allowances worth at least hundreds of billions of Naira, most especially at the beginning of their four-year legislative terms. This occupies their legislative duties more than anything else! Wrangling and squabbles over their pay package and more benefits to them generally takes at least months to a year or even more, of their four-year terms!
These inexhaustible needs and requirements of the legislators are clearly with wanton abandon of other contesting needs and requirements of other sectors of the nation and the national economy; the two other executive and judicial arms of government; and above all, the wishes of the teeming Nigerian masses. Ironically, curiously, and “interestingly”, these inexhaustible demands of the legislators surpass the more modest remunerations and emoluments of the other top politicians and top government functionaries and officials of the executive and the judiciary.
These excessive demands in general, and at least the basic salaries in particular of the legislators specifically, generally surpass and are over and above those of Ministers, Federal Permanent Secretaries of Ministries, and Directors-General of Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies (MDA’s); the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Heads of all Nigerian Courts at the Federal and State levels; the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); even the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; and indeed — believe it or not — even the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for that matter!
One therefore wonders how such bogus and unsustainable salaries and allowances were fixed by them at the beginning of the Third Republic! And even worse so, how come the then administration of Obasanjo consented and approved such bogus remunerations and emoluments for the legislators, and continuously, up till date and counting! Besides, who says and what makes the so-called “constituency projects allowances” of the legislators to be necessary or even relevant, or even so sacrosanct and unyielding to us in Nigeria?! This is notwithstanding the fact that such allowances are only reasonably allowable in developed, advanced and economically much better America — even though much more responsibly and sensibly — where we borrowed the prohibitively expensive Presidential system of government?!
It is therefore evident that the federal legislature especially — and by extension, the state legislatures — are short-changing not only the other arms of government. But also the other tiers or levels of government at the state and local government levels. This is to the peril and chagrin of the cheated, sidelined, marginalized, defrauded, and totally deprived Nigerian masses as a whole. The masses are therefore being continuously ripped off and horrendously extorted by fiat, by the federal legislature in particular! And the under-worked, over-paid, over-fed, and over-pampered gluttons of legislators continue to smile to their both domestic and foreign bank accounts especially!
Apparently, our legislators seem to be only interested in their “goodies” or even “goody-goodies” (those of us up to forty years old or above should easily remember that popular and favourite delicious sweet chocolate bar of decades ago!) first and foremost, over and above everything else.
Apparently, the federal legislators in particular and by extension, the state legislators also inclusive generally, seem to be less interested, and care less about legislating for the good and benefit of Nigerians and the country. But they seem to be more interested in, and carried away by, legislating for themselves especially. Conversely, on the other extreme, they are ironically and curiously more interested in making negative and bad legislations, which are especially “reserved” for the Nigerian masses! Such so-called legislations include the inimical law that is trying to stifle and constitute a snag to press freedom in Nigeria, including the new social media brouhaha, etc.
To add more insult to injury, the federal legislators and members of the National Assembly at the Lower Federal House of Representatives, and the Upper Senate, are also constantly looking for the slightest opportunities to increase these fantastic, monumental, and even sinful, if not criminal salaries, allowances, remunerations, and total emoluments of theirs. As well as their other beneficial “packages” of greed and avarice, almost on an annual basis, ab-initio, before discharging any legislative duties proper, at the very beginning of their legislative every four-year term.
The legislators therefore appear to be practically short-changing everybody else in Nigeria! But why?! Why were these controversial, fantastic, and scandalous emoluments of the legislators allowed to not only be fixed by them unilaterally, arbitrarily, and decisively, at the initial sittings of the National Assembly since 1999 till date, and periodically?! But also to be and to remain so mindboggling, scandalous, and skyrocketed?! Why did the Obasanjo and Jonathan administrations especially, condone and tolerate such “rip-off” of Nigerians and the fragile Nigerian economy?! I even often wonder how such mindboggling and clearly “fantastically corrupt” emoluments came about and originated in the first place as from 1999, for the first such time in Nigeria?! More so, as I feel that the Executive Arm of the Government effective from the Obasanjo administration in 1999, should have done its proper due diligence and duty, to check and balance this aspect of overpayment of the legislators since then, in line with the realities on the ground, and even simple common sense! Especially so, in the larger interests of these bogus payments not hitherto being a major burden on the Nigerian economy, which sincerely, they surely are now!
Indeed, these legislators, who continue to be overpaid with these bogus total emoluments of packages, should have since 1999 or thereafter, been sanctioned appropriately and accordingly, by the Executive Arm of Government. Failing this, the Executive Arm of Government since during the Obasanjo administration, should have instituted a court case against the Legislative Arm of Government for such bogus, mind-bogglingly “fantastically corrupt”, sinful, unjustified, and at least potentially criminal emoluments of the nation’s spoilt and over-pampered, legislative “prodigal sons and daughters”. Such a case should have since been initiated at the Federal High Court, being the court of competent jurisdiction for such a case, if necessary. And where deemed further necessary, such a case should have been subjected to appeals through the Court of Appeal, up to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, for judgement and pronouncement by the nation’s highest, last, and final court.
DISCLAIMER
The OPINION / COLUMN is authored by independent contributors to the National Accord Newspaper. While contributors adhere to our editorial guidelines, they are not employed by the National Accord Newspaper. The perspectives and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the National Accord Newspaper or its staff.