Some members of the Nigeria Senate are reportedly angry following the revelation of members of the upper legislative chambers receiving illegal allowance of N13.5 million each month in addition to their legitimate salaries and allowances.
A report stated that the aggrieved senators and some members of the House of Representatives were already discreetly working out modalities to deal with the Kaduna lawmaker, Sheu Sani who disclosed the alleged ‘topmost secret’ of the Senate.
Senator Sheu Sani, representing Kaduna Central had in an interview with TheNews exposed an alleged hidden secret of the Nigerian Senate after revealing that he and his colleagues receive N13.5 million monthly as “running cost” aside salary.
Some lawmakers who spoke to Premium Times NG but asked not to be named said the revelation by Mr Sani has damaged the reputation of the federal legislature while possibly pitting constituents against their representatives.
Mr. Sani’s revelation is said to be the first by a lawmaker from the Senate since the clamour by Nigerians for a full disclosure of lawmakers’ earnings.
The revelation has sparked widespread anger among Nigerians who had always criticised the lawmakers for arbitrarily allocating jumbo pay to themselves at a time the country remained in dire need of funds for developmental projects.
Ironically, Mr. Sani’s colleagues are criticising him for coming clean on the secret allowances lawmakers receive while majority of Nigerians wallow in poverty and disease.
The lawmakers vowed to take necessary steps to make the next one year difficult for the Kaduna senator.
The premium Times NG also quoted an anonymous senator saying; “He has brought his useless activism to the chamber creating the impression that we are all thieves without telling Nigerians details of what the money is used for, ” one lawmaker said. “There are always ways of dealing with characters like that. Just wait and see.”
It was gathered part of the punishment the angry lawmakers are considering is to pressure the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to exclude Mr. Sani from subsequent ‘secret meetings’ of the Senate.
