Senate President, Bukola Saraki, appears to be currently in a state of confusion, as his plans to considerably reduce the salaries and allowances of senators hits a brick wall yesterday. –
The report, according to a source, recommended a 10 per cent cut in the allowances and salaries of all senators. The report which was to be openly debated on the floor of the Senate yesterday for possible adoption, was stood down.
At the resumption of sitting yesterday, Senator Saraki following a closed door session, said that senators agreed to step down the report for further legislative input without giving any reason.
But some senators, who later spoke to Vanguard Newspaper on the issue on the condition that their names must be kept secret, said the report was stood down due to its total rejection by the majority of the senators.
Senators it was learnt, warned that the matter must be cautiously handled.
One senator said that though majority of the senators agreed that funny allowances like the monthly N42,000 wardrobe allowance should be cancelled or cut off completely but that many reasoned that substantive statutory emoluments should be sustained in the face of increasing financial requests from constituents and other Nigerians on daily basis.
He said: “Yes, as recommended by the committee, all senators agreed that there must be openness in the Senate budget and by extension, all beneficiary organs of the National Assembly but at the same time, many reasoned that why should we further reduce our budget when already, N30billion has been reduced from the traditional N150 billion that it used to be for all the seven different organs of the National Assembly.
“All of us have people in our constituencies and financial requests from them keep pilling up on daily basis, the reality of which made steps to be redirected, otherwise, some of us may stop coming here.”
