The three Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators from Kebbi, on Tuesday, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to reports, their letters of defection were read separately on the floor of the chamber by Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided over the plenary.
The senators are: Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central); Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North) and Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South).
Senator representing Abia North in the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has disclosed that he earns a total of N14 million every month as a Senator.
The Senator, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, dismissed the belief among some Nigerians that lawmakers are living in affluence while the masses live in poverty.
“I earn N14 million for everything in a month. That is everything encompassing, the overhead, the worker’s salary, everybody,” Uzor-Kalu said.
Uzor Kalu, who is a former governor of Abia State, argued that the N14 million is not enough to buy petrol to travel to his constituency, maintain the constituency office among other things.
No official vehicles for lawmakers
One of the most controversial issues that have always been raised against the national assembly is the luxury cars given to lawmakers as their official vehicles.
However, Senator Uzor Kalu denied that lawmakers are given official personal vehicles, saying that the only the various committees in the national assembly that are given vehicles.
“I am in the Senate and a lot of things are said about the Senators and I sit there quietly and watch, and most of these things are not true. All I know is that committees get vehicles, no lawmaker is given any vehicle,” the Senator said.
On the economic hardship in Nigeria, Senator Uzor Kalu said it is not peculiar to Nigeria as the impact of COVID-19 is still affecting economies globally. He said the only reason some countries are no longer feeling the COVID-19 impact the way Nigeria is feeling it is because they have built a robust economy for a very long period.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu is aware of the country’s unstable economy and is taking steps to address the challenges facing Nigeria.
“The president himself knows that Nigerians are suffering and hungry. He is a street person; he knows the street very well.
“The president some nights uses his car to go around and know what is happening in Abuja here.”
![15 senators, 149 reps sponsored no bill in first year — Report [SEE NAMES]](https://thenewsguru.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/FB_IMG_1725511199897.jpg)
A performance report by OrderPaper, Nigeria’s parliamentary monitoring organisation, has disclosed that 15 senators and 149 members of the House of Representatives did not sponsor any bills in the first year of the 10th Assembly.
The report, released by Oke Epia, Executive Director of OrderPaper, highlighted a legislative output of just 77 bills passed out of 1,442 introduced between June 2023 and May 2024.
The senators identified by the report to have sponsored no bills include Amos Yohanna (PDP, Adamawa North), Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central), Samaila Kaila (PDP, Bauchi North), Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), Ani Okorie (APC, Ebonyi South), Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), Neda Imasuen (LP, Edo South), and Kelvin Chizoba (LP, Enugu East).
Others are Muntari Dandutse (APC, Katsina South), Jiya Ndalikali (PDP, Niger South), Onyesoh Allwell (PDP, Rivers East), Haruna Manu (PDP, Taraba Central), Ahmad Lawan (APC, Yobe North), Napoleon Bali (PDP, Plateau South), and Abubakar Yari (APC, Zamfara Central).
Epia also revealed that the report also pointed out a trend of recycled legislation, with over half of the Senate bills and nearly one-third of House bills being reintroduced from previous assemblies.
The Senate saw 475 bills introduced, with only 19 passed, while the House introduced 1,175 bills, passing just 58. A significant number of these bills remain pending at the second reading stage. The report emphasized a disparity between bill sponsorship and their progression, indicating a gap in legislative efficiency.
Epia noted the slow progression of bills as a long-standing issue within the National Assembly, calling for a focus on the quality and impact of bills rather than mere quantity.
Senator Abdurrahman Kawu Sumaila (NNPP – Kano South) has reacted to the controversy of actual salary and allowances of federal lawmakers.
Sumaila revealed that
he earns N21million in allowances every month apart from monthly salary of about N1million.
Senator Shehu Sani who represented Kaduna Central during the 8th Assembly, once publicly disclosed that each Senator collects monthly running cost of N13.5million in addition to the monthly N750,000 prescribed by the RMAFC.
The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) – a body responsible for fixing salaries and allowances of public servants on Tuesday, revealed that each member of the Senate collects a total monthly salary and allowances of N1,063,860.00
The Commission gave the breakdown of the cumulative take-home pay for lawmakers to include: basic salary of N168,866:70; motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance allowance of N126,650; N42,216:66 for personal assistant; domestic staff – N126,650:00; entertainment – N50,660:00; utilities – N50,660; newspapers/periodicals – N25,330:00; Wardrobe allowance – N42,216,66:00; house maintenance – N8,443.33 and constituency allowance – N422,166:66; respectively.
However, speaking to the BBC Hausa Service on Wednesda, Sumaila said the monthly salary was fixed by the RMAFC.
“My monthly salary is less than N1million. After deductions, the figure comes down to a little over N600,000,” Senator Sumaila said, adding that: “Given the increase effected, in the Senate, each Senator gets N21million every month as running cost.”
“For instance, furniture allowance (N6,079,200 million) and severance gratuity (N6,079,200 million) are paid once in every tenure and vehicle allowance (N8,105,600 million) which is optional is a loan which the beneficiary has to pay before leaving office.
“A closer look at the monthly entitlement of Senators reveals that each Senator collects a monthly salary and allowances of the sum of N1,063,860:00 consisting of the following: Basic Salary- N168,866:70; Motor Vehicle Fuelling and Maintenance Allowance N126,650:00; Personal Assistant N42,216:66; Domestic Staff-126,650:00; Entertainment-N50,660:00; Utilities-N50,660:00; Newspapers/Periodicals-N25,330:00; Wardrobe-N42,216,66:00; House Maintenance -N8,443.33:00 and Constituency Allowance- N422,166:66; respectively,” the RMAFC chairman said in a statement he personally signed on Tuesday.”
He noted that with the exception of some few political and public office holders such as the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representative, among others, all public and legislative officers are no longer provided with housing as was the case in the past.
“The Commission also wishes to use this opportunity to state that any allegation regarding other allowance(s) being enjoyed by any political, public office holder outside those provided in the Remuneration (Amendment) Act, 2008 should be explained by the person who made the allegation.
“To avoid misinformation and misrepresentation of facts capable of misleading citizens and members of the International Community, the Commission considers it most appropriate and necessary to request Nigerians and any other interested party to avail themselves of the opportunity to access the actual details of the present Remuneration package for Political, Public and Judicial Office holders in Nigeria published on its website: www.rmafc.gov.ng,” he said.
He lamented that RMAFC does not have constitutional powers to enforce compliance with proper implementation of the official remuneration package, a lacuna he said was being addressed by the National Assembly.
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission confirmed that each Nigerian Senator receives a monthly salary and allowances totalling N1,063,860, covering various needs such as entertainment and constituency allowances.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Commission’s Chairman, M. B. Shehu, and published on the X page of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation on Tuesday.
The statement served as a rebuttal to comments allegedly attributed to Shehu Sani, a former Senator.
According to the Commission, Sani had claimed that “each Senator collects a monthly running cost of N13.5 million in addition to the monthly N750,000.00 prescribed by the Commission.”
The Commission denied this claim.
The Chairman explained that for now, the RMAFC does not have the constitutional power to enforce compliance with the proper implementation of the remuneration package.
He provided a breakdown of the monthly pay of each Senator as follows: “The sum of N1,063,860, which includes: Basic Salary – N168,866.70; Motor Vehicle Fuelling and Maintenance Allowance – N126,650.00; Personal Assistant – N42,216.66; Domestic Staff – N126,650.00; Entertainment – N50,660.00; Utilities – N50,660.00; Newspapers/Periodicals – N25,330.00; Wardrobe – N42,216.66; House Maintenance – N8,443.33; and Constituency Allowance – N422,166.66.”
“It is important to note that some allowances are regular while others are non-regular. Regular allowances are paid consistently with the basic salary, while non-regular allowances are paid as they become due. For instance, Furniture Allowance (N6,079,200.00) and Severance Gratuity (N6,079,200.00) are paid once per tenure, and Vehicle Allowance (N8,105,600.00), which is optional, is a loan that the beneficiary must repay before leaving office,” the statement partly reads.
Shehu emphasized that with the exception of a few political and public officeholders, such as the President, Vice President, Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, all public and legislative officers are no longer provided with housing as was the case in the past.
The statement also reads:
“The Commission also wishes to use this opportunity to state that any allegation regarding other allowances enjoyed by any political or public officeholder, outside those provided in the Remuneration (Amendment) Act, 2008, should be explained by the person who made the allegation.”
“To avoid misinformation and misrepresentation of facts that could mislead citizens and members of the international community, the Commission considers it most appropriate and necessary to request that Nigerians and any other interested parties take advantage of the opportunity to access the actual details of the current remuneration package for political, public, and judicial officeholders in Nigeria, published on its website: rmafc.gov.ng.”
The activities of the Commission include monitoring revenue accruals and disbursements from the Federation Account.
The Nigerian Senate has began moves to amend the constitution to allow for the establishment of the Local Government Independent Electoral Commission.
This is subsequent to the First Reading of the bill on the floor of the Senate on Thursday plenary.
The bill sponsored by Senator Sani Musa representing Niger East seeks to establish an independent body to conduct elections at the local government level.
Recall that the Supreme Court last week delivered a judgement separating the local governments from the states account thereby making them entirely independent.
In the same vein, the Senate rejected the Bill seeking for the Establishment of National Road Transport Council.
The rejection followed the submission of some Senators on a Bill sponsored by Senator Yisa Ashiru, title of the Bill ” A Bill for an Act to establish National Road Transport Council to be saddled with the responsibility of regulating the road transport industry and the transport profession in Nigeria and for related matters, 2024 ( SB. 324).
In his lead debate, Senator Yisa stresses the importance of the Bill and the need to oversee and regulate transport companies in the Country.
Supporting the Bill, Senator Dicket Plang, Plateau Central and Senator Osita Ngwu, Enugu West stated the challenges faced as a result of improper regulations of the road.
They added that this Bill will help to protect the drivers and workers in the Country and bring very reliable Means of transportation.
On the contrary, Senator Victor Umeh, Anambra Central and Senator Adams Oshomole, Edo North opposed the Bill on the ground that there are many regulatory Agencies for road transportation in the Country.
They added that the most important thing is to make the existing Institutions work to avoid multiplication of duplicated Institutions.
The Senate President, after a long deliberation put it to a voice vote and the nays had it.”
Recall that the Bill was read for the first time at the floor of the Senate on 30th January, 2024.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday received a delegation of United States senators in Beijing in a possible move to bring the two countries closer together.
“The China-US relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world,” Xi said.
Xi struck a conciliatory tone at the meeting as he told the group led by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
For China, Xi said it had always been clear that the two countries’ common interests far outweighed their differences.
Earlier on Monday, the U.S. officials also spoke with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi.
“I hope this visit will help the U.S. view China in a more accurate and objective way and bring China-U.S. relations back to the track of sound development,” Wang said.
In a televised excerpt of Schumer’s comments, the senator said the U.S. wanted stability and fairness and not an economic decoupling with China.
“But China must also provide a level playing field for American companies and workers,” Schumer added.
Schumer, a democrat, also criticised China’s failure to condemn the bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas on Israel, which left hundreds dead.
In a statement on the conflict, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not express sympathy or support for Israel.
He instead called on all parties to exercise restraint, cease fire immediately, protect civilians and ensure the situation did not deteriorate further.
Before the China trip, the U.S. side said the bipartisan delegation wanted to meet government and business representatives, and also hoped to meet with Xi.
Xi is both the paramount leader of China’s government and the general secretary of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
The relationship between the world’s two largest economies is currently hampered by sanctions, economic and geopolitical disputes and spying allegations.
Observers are, therefore, looking forward to a possible meeting between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Summit in San Francisco in November.
It remained unclear whether Xi will attend.
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing did not comment on the possibility on Monday when asked.
The Upper chamber of the legislative arm, on Tuesday, amended its rule to restrict first-time senators from vying for the position of the Senate President and Deputy Senate president.
This followed a motion moved by the Senate leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, titled, “Amendment of the Standing Orders of the Senate pursuant to Order 109 of the Senate Standing Orders, 2022.” as amended in 3 Section 2 and Sub-section 1,2 and 3
In the contest leading to the emergence of Akpabio as the Senate President, former Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari, a first-time senator, threw in his weight to vie for the position.
The Senate rule book states that nomination for presiding officers shall be in accordance with the ranking of senators.
It states, “In determining the ranking, the following Order shall apply: (i) senators returning based on the number of times re-elected; (ii) senators who had been members of the House of Representatives and (iii) Senators elected as senators for the first time.”
However, Bamidele in his motion stated that the Senate Standing Rule was amended on Saturday, August 5, 2023, to create new Committees and other sundry Amendments.
He said, “There are a number of issues that require further Amendments to provide for the creation of additional Committees of the Senate in response to emerging developments that will enhance rules of procedure for sound legislative practice.
“These developments have made it imperative to further amend the Standing Orders of the Senal 2022 (as amended) occasioned by the creation of additional Senate Standing Committees and to have the functions and jurisdictions reflected in the Standing Orders of the Senate.
“The amendments have been circulated to Senators in accordance with Order 109 Rule 2 the Senate Standing Orders.”
“Senator Bamidele further urged the Senate to “restrain first-time lawmakers from contesting for any of the presiding officers; Senate President and Deputy Senate President.”
The lawmakers then unanimously agreed to amend their rule to accommodate the prayers as moved by the Senate leader.
Barely one week to the resumption of the National Assembly, indications have emerged that the real reason some Senators are ganging up against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has to do with the ‘yorubanisation’ of the Nigerian economy.
The feelers from the Senate since Akpabio emerged as president and the manner he emerged clearly point to the fact that his footstool would wear the landmark of his predecessor who was a complete rubber stamp.
Also, it’s widely believed in some quarters that Senator Akpabio’s lack of capacity to checkmate the domination of the Yoruba in the financial ecosystem and his alleged refusal to deal with some powerful interest groups, particularly some petrol importers and the electricity distribution companies on some proposed financial deals bordering on 40% electricity tariff hike and payment of outstanding money to fuel importers.
Fresh details on the agitation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio emerged at the weekend with the revelation that the disaffection on committee appointments was only a mirage. The real anger of the group of senators is the suspicion of the incapacity of the Senate President to checkmate what some northern senators are calling the Yorubanisation of the country’s financial system and economy.
Recall that the social media networks, newspapers had last weekend alleged a plot by some senators against Akpabio alleging lopsided distribution of ‘juicy’ committees mainly in favour of his supporters and to the discrimination of those who opposed him during the leadership contest.
Unlike the House of Representatives where’s his counterpart compensated his fellow combatants with relatively ‘juicy’committees, Akpabio adopted the model of the immediate past Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila who gave his fellow combatants graveyard committees.
It was gathered that the allegation may have some substance, it has, however, emerged that some rivals of the Senate President may have regrouped using as a reason his apparent failure to check the lopsided appointments by the president in favour of the Yoruba, especially in the financial sector.
Among the senators who are alleged to have regrouped with a mission of standing up to Senator Akpabio are some former governors drawn from the North and at least one from the South-South.
The group has now formally come out by presenting Senator Elisha Abbo, APC, Adamawa North as the face of the group.
Senator Abbo in interviews he granted at the weekend accused Akpabio of marginalising his rivals in the leadership contest and their supporters in the distribution of the committee positions.
Competent sources within the Abbo group have now revealed that the angst of the group was far more and go beyond the Senate President.
“The main issue is our fear that Akpabio cannot check this Yorubanisation of the financial system that is going on now,” a source within the group revealed.
The source who spoke on the condition of anonymity alluded to the appointments at the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Customs, among others that have recently been infused with Yoruba leadership. The control of the agencies is besides the appointment of Yoruba Ministers in the financial sector and the blue economy.
“Yes, the reason why you can see that Northerners are mostly involved is that most of those being removed and replaced with Yoruba are northerners,” the source added.
It was further gathered that the aim of the senators is to enthrone a senate president the group believes can checkmate President Bola Tinubu.
Besides the appointments, the group is also said to be working on behalf of some interest groups in the economy who believe that they were shortchanged after reaching agreements with the president and Akpabio on the payment of subsidy to the petrol importers.
It was gathered that an arrangement had been reached with the presidency that funds generated from the removal of fuel subsidy would be used to settle petrol importers within the first two months of the removal of subsidy. The fund amounting to N2 trillion has, however, not been so used but rather pushed to palliatives intervention.
Another interest group said to have infiltrated into the ranks of the dissident senators were some Electricity Distribution companies who were said to have also reached an agreement with the presidency and Akpabio for an upward review of 40% of tariff. That agreement was, however, discountenanced on the Senate floor by Akpabio.
Northern business interest groups are believed to be more affected by the decision not to pay the petrol importers who took the president’s smile to banks but delivered bounced cheques.
Senator Abdul Ningi of Bauchi Central has said the Senate told President Bola Tinubu war was a no go area to restore democracy in the Niger Republic.
TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports Senator Ningi, who was a guest on a national tv program, said there must be a joint sitting of the National Assembly before the Nigerian Armed Forces could be deployed for war anywhere.
“He has the right to ask (for permission) but the Constitution has stipulated some conditions.
“For him to ask the Nigerian Armed Forces to go into a war there needs to be a joint sitting, not only the Senate but the National Assembly.
“He sent us a letter enumerating what is happening in ECOWAS and we read it and we told him point blank that war is off the table, deal with other issues.”
He, however, said that the Senators commended the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) for their efforts in resolving the political crisis in Niger Republic.
“We even commended him. We said a coup is not something anyone will negotiate or we are comfortable with. There is nothing under or above the table that should attract a coup,” Senator Ningi noted.
Senator Ningi is the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, who had earlier rejected the option of military intervention in the Niger Republic.
According to the lawmaker, the history of the relationship between Nigeria and Niger dates back centuries ago, insisting that both countries are almost the same if not for the map designed by the colonialists.
He said the country has no better ally on the continent than Niger. The usage of the naira as a legal tender in the Niger Republic is a testament to how close both countries are, the lawmaker said.
Senator Ningi maintained that there are other ways to deal with the coup plotters other than using force.