Former governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has said salaries collected by National Assembly members are not enough to meet their responsibilities, especially to their constituencies.
Amosun, who currently represents Ogun Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, was responding to a question on BBC Yoruba on calls by some members of the public to make the jobs of National Assembly members part-time instead of the current full-time in order to cut their salaries which has been described as one of the highest in the world.
In the interview monitored by DAILY INDEPENDENT, Amosun who was first elected a senator in 2003 said while the monies collected by lawmakers seem huge, it is not enough because Nigerian lawmakers provide basic amenities for their constituencies, unlike their foreign counterparts.
He said “If we say we should make it a part-time job instead of full-time, I would say I agree with it and I am happy that I have been privileged to be a senator between 2003 to 2007, and returned in 2019. I have seen the system and I’d like to say it isn’t as easy as it seems”.
“It seems as if the money lawmakers collect is huge but, it isn’t exactly like that. You cannot compare the lawmakers of Nigeria with the lawmakers of other countries because Nigerian lawmakers are expected to provide basic amenities, such as water, power and others, for their constituencies.
“We are also being looked upon to cater to the welfare of many of our constituents. In fact, many of us barely have time to be with our families as a result of serving our country, therefore, we tend to spend a lot to carry out our daily activities.
“Therefore, if you take a cursory look at these things that the politicians do, you would see that the money lawmakers collect is not enough to even handle all these expectations. In fact, what lawmakers collect is not even up to half of a trillion, looking at it from the perspective of the budget that was just presented by the President.
“Many of the lawmakers are the representatives of their states and there are responsibilities and duties conferred on us as lawmakers, in terms of attending meetings in various distant places and giving charity to the people who come seeking help to feed or educate their children; there are also community projects we undertake.”
The former governor added that many people in Nigeria flood the homes of lawmakers to beg for money due to the fact that things are not working in the country.
“Due to the challenge of economic instability and insufficiency of funds, you will see people flooding lawmakers’ houses to beg for money, which is not supposed to be if the country is truly independent and things are working,” he said.
Salaries Of Senators, Reps Not Enough To Handle Their Expectations – Amosun
