Senate President Ahmad Lawan has claimed that the public has a wrong impression of their earnings and blamed the media for feeding that impression. According to him, contrary to the public imagination, a Senator collects N1.5 million as monthly salary while a House of Reps Member receives N1.3 a month.
For most Nigerians, however, his explanation conceals more than it reveals. In 2018, former Senator Shehu Sani revealed that each Senator receives N13.5 monthly as running costs(whatever that means). No lawmaker, including Lawan, disputed Senator Sani’s breathtaking revelation. Besides, every attempt by human rights lawyer Femi Falana to gain access to the actual salaries and allowances of our lawmakers was frustrating. Despite taking advantage of the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to their salaries and allowances, the National Assembly challenged Falana’s legal action and the court dismissed him as a “busybody.”
You can’t have good governance without transparency. The disclosure system is the main reason why there is transparency in western democracies. In western democracies, elected officials don’t shroud their salaries and allowances in secrecy. Why should you be afraid of the public knowing how much you are being paid? Why should you keep the voters in the dark about your salaries and allowances? If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn’t be nervous about full disclosure. With a simple Google search, you will have instant access to the salary and allowances of US Congress members. Why is our case different?
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