It’s immoral to fix your salaries, allowances by yourselves, Obasanjo tells Nigerian Lawmakers
*Slams Tinubu-led Executive's unentitled N200m to each of 109 Senators
By KEMI KASUMU
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised Nigerian National Assembly members for determining their salaries and allowances by themselves,saying it is immoral.
He also frowned at the Bola Tinubu-led Executive, which gave each of the country’s 109 Senators N200 million each that they are not entitled to, noting this as part of the problems of the nation.
Obasanjo spoke on Friday August 9, 2024 when he hosted some members of the House of Representatives in Abeokuta, the capital city of Ogun State.
The former President said it is the duty of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) to determine what public officeholders earn.
“Look at your case, with all due respect,” Obasanjo said.
“You are not supposed to fix your salaries or your allowances; it is supposed to be done by the RMFAC, but you decide what you pay yourselves, the allowances that you give yourselves — newspaper allowances, pant allowances — you give yourself all sorts of things. With due respect, you know it is not right.
“It is not right for me to be the one to declare and determine what I pay myself. It is immoral, and then you are doing it.
“The senate is doing it, and in some cases, the executive gives you what you are not entitled to. You all got N200 million.”
The Federal legislative arm of government is often criticised for the “huge pay” allocated to its members. The total remuneration the Federal lawmakers receive every month is shrouded in secrecy.
In 2018, Shehu Sani, a former Senator who represented Kaduna Central, said he and his colleagues received N13.5 million monthly as running costs, aside from salaries.
During the visit, Obasanjo shared infornation about how corruption in the oil sector will never Nigerian refineries work.
He spoke about what happened his time as civilian President and he invited Shell Comoany to help fix or run the country’s four refineries at a given percentage of profit and why they they turned down the offer.
He said the international oil company told him that one, the refineries in the countries are small incapable of producing more than 250,000 barrel per day in all, two that the corruption going on in the oil sector is enormous and that they would not want to be connected with that.
The Lawmakers visited to consult and seek the former Leader’s support for their new vill being proposed for one single term of six years for president and governors in the country.
