Obasanjo to n’assembly: It’s immoral to fix your salaries, allowances

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says it is immoral for the members of the national assembly to determine their salaries and allowances.

Obasanjo spoke on Friday when he hosted some members of the house of representatives in Abeokuta, the capital city of Ogun state.

The former president said it is the duty of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) to determine what public officeholders earn.

“Look at your case, with all due respect,” Obasanjo said.

“You are not supposed to fix your salaries or your allowances; it is supposed to be done by the RMFAC, but you decide what you pay yourselves, the allowances that you give yourselves — newspaper allowances, pant allowances — you give yourself all sorts of things. With due respect, you know it is not right.

“It is not right for me to be the one to declare and determine what I pay myself. It is immoral, and then you are doing it.

“The senate is doing it, and in some cases, the executive gives you what you are not entitled to. You all got N200 million.”

The federal legislative arm of government is often criticised for the “huge pay” allocated to its members. The total remuneration the federal lawmakers receive every month is shrouded in secrecy.

In 2018, Shehu Sani, a former senator who represented Kaduna Central, said he and his colleagues received N13.5 million monthly as running costs, aside from salaries.