Members of the House of Representatives are demanding an upward review of their salaries and allowances, following the removal of fuel subsidy and the current economic situation in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the demand was the outcome of meeting the lawmakers had on July 11 after going into an executive session during plenary.
NAN reports that the complain from members arising from salaries and allowances forced the House to go into executive session in order to douse tension. The lawmakers had also demanded from the Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abass, reason for the delay in the payment of their salaries and allowances, causing some of them to resort to loans.
However, one of the lawmakers who was at the meeting but craved anonymity because he was not permitted to speak on the outcome of the executive session, dismissed the rumour.
Refuting the speculations, the lawmaker said they only told the speaker that their salaries and allowances could no longer meet the demand of their job, hence a review was necessary.
“So nobody talked about any money or whether we have been paid or not,” the lawmaker explained.
The source said their request was sequel to the current economic reality following the subsidy removal which had caused hardship, making goods and services to skyrocket in the country.
The lawmaker said though the speaker did not promise them anything on the review of their salaries and allowances, because such demand could only be accommodated in the budget after due processes.
According to the legislator, the speaker however told his colleagues that their demand on review of their salaries and allowances were not in the 2023 budget. According to the source, the speaker cannot have promised anything, and that “we all know the situation in the country, we are all facing the same problem”.
Meanwhile, to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, the House of Representatives received a communication from President Bola Tinubu on July 12, seeking an amendment to the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act.
The amendment is to accommodate ₦500 billion for the provision of palliatives for Nigerians. In the letter, Tinubu said the request was necessary to enable the government provide palliatives for Nigerians to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.