The Senate and the House of Representatives has denied fixing the salaries of their members, contrary to some reports.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently accused Federal lawmakers of unconstitutionally deciding their emoluments at the country’s expense.
But in separate statements yesterday in Abuja, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Adeyemi Adaramodu, and the Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, said neither both chambers of the National Assembly nor its management fixed the salaries of lawmakers.
Adaramodu said: “The Nigerian Senate is petrified by the tattling story of determining its own salaries and receiving a special fiscal package from the Presidency.
“This sordid and telltale assertion was amplified during a visit of a group of House of Representatives members to the former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“To straighten the records, the Senate receives only the salary allocated constitutionally by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
“We challenge anyone who is privileged, either in qualified or absolute position, to bring forth any contrary fact.
“The senators or the National Assembly do not and cannot fix their salaries. Any suggestions contrary is uncharitable and satanic.
“It’s only an attempt to crucify the legislature by centurions of political hypocrisy.
“It’s pertinent to inform the unsuspecting public that no senator has received any monetary patronage from the Presidency.
“The mischievously touted constituency projects are not for the legislators. They are only suggested and nominated by the legislators in accordance with the practice in other democracies worldwide while the executive arm awards the contracts to qualified contractors and ensures the implementation of the projects through its respective ministries and agencies.
“And the amount varies, depending on the number of constituencies in each state of the federation. It’s merely a contribution to the Federal budget to ensure that every nook and cranny of Nigeria feels Federal presence.
“We are actually in a season of political pontificating when irreverent scaremongering takes prominence.
“The 10th Senate is a responsible and responsive chamber, hence would not do anything that can harm the economy and growth of Nigeria. It thus receives only what the relevant agency of government constitutionally allocates to it, and would never solicit for extra ludicrous perks from the other arms of government.”
Also, Agbese said the former President was using the past to pass judgment on the present.
