The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has issued a stern call to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, demanding transparency regarding the National Assembly's financial practices.

SERAP has urged them 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."
This demand follows allegations that each Nigerian senator receives at least N21 million monthly in running costs, salaries, and allowances, as disclosed by Senator Kawu Sumaila in an interview with BBC Hausa.
In a letter dated August 17, 2024, signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization expressed concerns about the lawmakers' practice of fixing their own salaries, allowances, and running costs, which it described as opaque and inconsistent with the constitutional oath of office.

The letter emphasized that "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."
SERAP also highlighted the need for the National Assembly to end the alleged practice of paying running costs into the personal accounts of lawmakers and to refer any misuse or mismanagement of these funds to appropriate anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution.
The organization warned that if the recommended measures are not taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of the letter, it would take all appropriate legal actions to compel compliance in the public interest.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has also alleged that lawmakers fix their own salaries and allowances contrary to the recommendations of the Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC).
SERAP's call for accountability is rooted in the belief that "Nigerians have a right to scrutinize how their lawmakers spend their tax money and the commonwealth," and that ending the reported practice would improve public confidence in the integrity and honesty of the National Assembly.
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