Barley five days after LEADERSHIP exclusively reported that the House of Representatives was yet to disburse the N540 million realised from the slashing of members’ 50% in the last five months, Speaker Abbas has announced that a total of N704.98 million contributed for whole six months period will be handed over to President Bola Tinubu for disbursement to the suffering poor Nigerians.
LEADERSHIP Sunday’s investigation revealed that 50 per cent of each lawmaker’s basic salary of N600,000 per month translates to N300,000 per month. This implies that the whole House would contribute N108 million monthly and N540 million for the five months already covered.
Some senior officials of the National Assembly bureaucracy confirmed to LEADERSHIP Sunday that the total amount deducted from the lawmakers’ salaries had not been disbursed to the targeted beneficiaries.
At the resumed plenary on Thursday, Speaker Abbas explained that the donation will be handed over to President Bola Tinubu on December 31, 2024.
On July 18, the House adopted an amendment to a motion of urgent public importance proposed by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Benjamin Kalu (APC, Abia). The amendment states that lawmakers should contribute 50% of their monthly salary of N6O0,000 to assist Nigerians during these challenging times.
The speaker said: “If you recall, about five months ago, we decided to contribute half of our salaries to address the critical needs of the Nigerian people. I am happy to inform you that we have contributed N704,907,578.82 so far.
“On December 31, I will lead a delegation of leadership to hand over the money to the President for the exclusive use of the vulnerable Nigerians who need it.
“The contributions you made highlight the steadfastness and dedication of members to addressing the critical needs of Nigerians,” he noted.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu explained that in July 2024, the lawmakers resolved to donate half of their salaries to meet Nigerians’ hunger needs as part of efforts to stop the #Endbadgovernance# protest.
“This government is doing its best, but one year is not enough to address the challenges of this country. I plead with our colleagues to sacrifice 50 per cent for six months.
“Our salary is N600,000 a month. I want to plead that we let go of 50 per cent of our salary for six months,” Kalu noted
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