Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has defended federal lawmakers’ overbloated salaries, asserting that their current pay is not sufficient to fulfill their duties, during an appearance on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today.’
Kalu emphasized that the perception of lawmakers’ salaries is misconstrued, highlighting the distinction between salaries and allowances crucial for their constituency duties.
The Abia-born politician argued that slashing their salaries by 50% would not address the underlying issues.
“At the moment, talking about the salary of the National Assembly. I have said this over and again, it is not as much as people think. Salary is different from allowance, which is meant to do the jobs our constituents have sent us to do.
Nobody is allowed to touch allowances. It is the salary that belongs to you. Allowances have no subheadings for which they are made for. If you use it wrongly, when you are retiring it, you will be sanctioned for that.
“So talking about the salaries of the National Assembly, it is a far cry from what is supposed to be. And I can assure you that even if we reduce it by 50 per cent or 80 per cent, it will not really impact what the Nigerian lawmakers should be earning, which does not go in tandem with the economic situation of the country,” Kalu asserted, citing inflation and operational costs.
Acknowledging the need for governance cost reduction, Kalu commended President Bola Tinubu for initiating the full implementation of the Steve Oronsaye panel’s 2012 recommendations to streamline government agencies.
He praised Tinubu’s forward-thinking approach, affirming that such measures are crucial, particularly amid Nigeria’s challenges.
“Like you rightly pointed out, you mentioned cutting cost of governance. This shows that when you look at the President’s body language and determination, he is intentional about reducing the cost of running the government. If he’s not, he will not be looking for that document.
“I want to thank him for (that) because some of the issues mentioned in that report, we are going to use them as source materials for the work we are doing on Constitution review. And we’re happy that Mr President is forward thinking for him to embrace that report. He means well for Nigeria, especially during this period when we are facing a lot of challenges. In reducing the cost of running government, the need for it cannot be overemphasised,” he said.
