SENATE: BETWEEN SERVING AND FLEECING THE PUBLIC
The information disclosed by Senator Shehu Sani representing Kaduna central that each senator receives N13.5 million monthly as running cost has stirred mixed reactions among Nigerians. Although this is not the first time the lawmakers are accused of cornering the national resources at the detriment of economic development, the latest disclosure from an insider has reaffirmed the belief that the red chamber is a money-spinning machine. Prior to this shocking revelation, the former CBN governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi advised the federal government to cut recurrent expenditure amidst the economic crisis. He frowned on how federal government could be spending billions of naira servicing lawmakers while majority of Nigerians live in abject poverty.
Joining the list of those who lashed out at our senators and described them as those who feed fat from the lean pulse of government is Ibrahim Babangida. The former military ruler once advocated for part time lawmakers to reduce the cost of government. Why is our democracy costly to run compared to the advanced democratic countries of the world? This plain truth of our money guzzling Senate makes me to do a simple arithmetic to arrive at how many billions these 109 members gulp in a calendar year. Each senator receives monthly salary of N700,000, N13.5m monthly running cost and N200m constituency allowance. It costs the country N371 million to service a senator and cumulatively N40.44 billion annually to maintain 109 senators. This huge amount is outrageous in a country like Nigeria where per-capita income is low and people are languishing in penury.
What pains many Nigerians is that these senators consumed the funds without commensurate results. It may interest you to know that most of our senators are seat warmers. They hardly sponsor bills that will translate or enhance the lives of their constituents. In fact, many of them hardly visit their constituency let alone know the problems of the electorate that voted them. Annoyingly, some senators only drive to their communities when election is slated or around the corner. They would come up with funny poverty alleviation programme distributing motorcycles, sewing machines and peanuts capital for selected loyalists. This is intended to win the heart of beneficiaries in anticipation of vote in return. Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua, Kaduna State