A member of the House of
Representatives, Chief Joe Edionwele, on Monday, protested against the debate
for pay cut for legislators, describing the proponents of the crusade as
ignorant.
Edionwele, a member of the
Peoples Democratic Party representing Esan West, Esan Central and Igueben
federal constituency of Edo State, said some lecturers, bankers and oil workers
were earning more than federal lawmakers.
While speaking to journalists in Abuja, the lawmaker said, “I think people are speaking out of ignorance. Even before now, I was one
of those who believed the same thing. The records will be made public. We will
ensure that the National Assembly does that, Nigerians need to know.
The
salaries we earn are not in any way close to what people speculate. People in
the oil and gas sectors, banking and even lecturers earn more than us and the
President.
“By the time we make it
public, everybody will have peace. It will give you peace. One of my friends
told me that the salary and allowances I will earn will be N40m. I told him if
I get that for 10 months, I will resign. I can tell you that by the time it is
made public, people will sympathise with us. Legislators should earn well so
that they will not be corrupt during their oversight functions.
“The problem of this country
is corruption. When people talk about pay cut, I laugh. How much are we going
to get back from the pay cut? The corruption in this country is endemic.
Look
at the corruption in the oil sector; if we are able to sanitize that sector for
instance, our problem will reduce. If we can know what we generate from
different agencies, then we can have enough money to finance projects. Look at
the governors and their security votes. Their votes are over bloated. Look at
the number of cars governors use.
“You heard when Buhari
rejected 253 DSS operatives. What are you doing with that number? There are so
many things to cut down on. I am also glad that Mr. President said in spite of
what the law says, he is going to be concerned about what happens at the local
government level.
The security vote of a council chairman for instance is N2m.
What is a local government chairman doing with such money? Then a governor gets
over N200m. Why should somebody then talk about a salary that is less than
N1m?”
He said President Muhammadu
Buhari would have no need for the 15 special assistants approved for him by the
Senate.
He said the figure was
unreasonable.
“Mr. President, for
instance, just got an approval for 15 special advisers. What are they advising?
We really do not need all that. Mr. President has about three bullet-proofs
Mercedes Benz. Does he really need them?
We must downsize in every sector. For
instance, we should do away with the entertainment allowance. State Houses of
Assembly enjoy it,” he stated.
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