An ugly trend seems to be running through the National Assembly since the beginning of the present republic, and we urge that it be permanently exorcised from the hallowed chambers, for the common good of our country. That trend is the temptation to legislate pension for the principal officers of the National Assembly, in addition to the much condemned unconstitutional emoluments being enjoyed by the law makers.
We wonder how such insidious matter cropped up again in the present assembly, and condemn those behind the attempt. We however commend the members of the House of Representatives for shutting down the obnoxious bill, and urge them to remain steadfast to ensure it is not resurrected again under their watch. Except for a greedy mind, on what basis would the exchequer be sequestrated to impose another hefty burden on tax payers to further enrich a few individuals?
In the first republic, the parliamentarians were part-time legislators, and no one accused them of not performing their duties diligently. By some account, they may have even outperformed those in service presently, more so as they represented larger constituencies. So, in terms of workload, they did more work, while earning lesser remuneration. Perhaps they were more conscientious than the present crop of legislators, otherwise, how do they justify the crave for more remuneration for lesser work?
It is a notorious claim which has not been repudiated by members of our National Assembly that its members are among the highest paid in the world. Indeed, much higher than legislators in more buoyant economies across the world. According to a report quoting The Economist of London Magazine, with data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Nigerian legislator earns about $189,500 annually and that is 52 per cent higher than the Kenya legislators, who are the second highest in the polled countries across the world.
Comparatively, in terms of volume of cash earnings, the Nigerian legislators beat their counterparts in Britain who take $105,400 yearly, as well as those in the United States ($174,000), France ($85,900), South Africa ($104,000), Kenya ($74,500), Saudi Arabia ($64,000) and Brazil ($157,600). Furthermore, in terms of the lawmakers’ salaries as a ratio of GDP per capita, the Nigerian lawmaker earns 116 times the country’s GDP per person, while that of a British member of parliament is just 2.7 times.
That remuneration of course is unconstitutional, as Section 32(d) of Part N, 2nd Schedule, 1999 constitution (as amended) clearly imbues the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), with the responsibility of fixing the salaries and emoluments of certain public officers, including the National Assembly members. In the report, by 2007, the allowances provided by RMAFC for legislators included (Senator N4m, Rep. N3.97m), vehicle loan (Senator N8m, Rep. N6.948m), furniture (Senator N6m, Rep. N5.956m) and severance gratuity (Senator N6m, Rep. N5.956m), which are due once in four years.
Other allowances are car maintenance (Senator N1.52m, Rep. N595,563), constituency (Senator N5m, Rep. N1.687m), domestic staff (Senator N1.5m, Rep. N1.488m), personal assistant (Senator N506,600; Rep. N496,303), entertainment (Senator N202,640, Rep. N198,521), recess (Senator N202,640; Rep. N198,521), utilities (Senator N607,920; Rep. N397,042), newspaper/periodicals (Senator N303,960; Rep. N297,781), house maintenance (Senator N101,320; Rep. N99,260) and wardrobe (Senator N405,280; Rep. N397,402). Unfortunately, to ensure that the earnings of the National Assembly members are shrouded in secrecy, a lump sum budget is made annually without any breakdown.
Currently, what the members of the National Assembly earn is far higher than the provisions made by RMAFC. To add a life pension to the humongous earnings is surely an overkill on the limping national economy. We urge that the proposal for life pension for NASS officers be buried permanently.