The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to “promptly disclose the exact amount of the monthly running costs of millions of naira currently being paid to and received by members of the National Assembly and the spending details of any such running costs.”
SERAP asked them to “promptly disclose the total amount of running costs that have so far been paid to and received by the lawmakers and to ensure the return of any misused or mismanaged public funds.”
This information was made known in a statement dated August 17, 2024, signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, Deputy Director of SERAP, and made available to journalist.
It also called them “to end the alleged practice of paying running costs into the personal accounts of lawmakers, and to refer the alleged misuse or mismanagement of the running costs to appropriate anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution where there is relevant admissible evidence.”
Part of the statements reads, “We are concerned about the practice by the lawmakers of fixing their salaries, allowances, and running costs, as well as the opacity and the spending of millions of naira in running costs by lawmakers.
“The constitutional oath of office of lawmakers requires them to ensure transparency and accountability in the exact amounts of salaries, allowances and running costs they receiv,.” it added.
The letter further reads, “The provisions of paragraph N, section 32(d) of the Third Schedule to the Nigerian Constitution clearly make it unlawful for the National Assembly to fix its own salaries, allowances and running costs.
The allegations that members of the National Assembly are fixing their own salaries, allowances and running costs are entirely inconsistent and incompatible with the constitutional oath of office and the object and purpose of the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.
“Accounting for and returning any misused or mismanaged running costs collected by members of the National Assembly would build trust in democratic institutions and strengthen the rule of law.”
However, SERAP noted that Nigerians have a right to scrutinise how their lawmakers spend their tax money and the commonwealth. Nigerians also have a right to honest and faithful performance by their public officials including lawmakers.”
