N70bn Palliative: 10th National Assembly sending wrong signal to Nigerians, says Rafsanjani

The 10th National Assembly is under fire following the N70 billion funds set aside to improve the working conditions of the lawmakers inaugurated less than two months ago.

The national assembly last week at plenary amended the N819.5 billion 2022 supplementary budget, allocated N70 billion to themselves while N500 billion was allocated to 12 million Nigerian families who would get N800 monthly amongst themselves for the next six months.

Rafsanjani said the N70bn set aside as palliative funds for the national assembly is a wrong economic decision.

The federal government and the national assembly stated that the N500 billion would cushion the aftermath of the fuel subsidy removal in April.

Meanwhile, Nigerians have critiqued this move, with many political pundits, public affairs commentators, lawyers, civil societies, and other political enthusiasts kicking against it.

Speaking to Legit.ng on this matter, the executive director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Head of Transparency Int'l Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, described the move as a sheer insensitivity from lawmakers that are barely two months in office.

He stated that the current economic reality of Nigeria caused by the past administration does not support such gigantic allocation for lawmakers whose work does not tally with their outrageous earnings.

Rafsanjani said: “This demand by the lawmakers is not appropriate at this point in time because of our financial and economic situation in the country.

“Secondly, they are just coming. They have not spent two months in the chamber for them to justify their so-called allowance. If they are the people’s representatives, they should first look at the people they represent rather than themselves. That is what leadership is all about.”

Rafsanjani stated that it is a wrong financial decision to borrow money and allocate it to lawmakers that are already overpaid.

He harped on the issue of the government struggling to increase the N30,000 minimum wage, the demand by ASUU seeking an increase in the salaries of professors and the government’s failure to cater for the welfare of health workers who usually go on strike.

Rafsanjani said the move was a wrong signal to Nigerians and should be halted immediately.