Prominent human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has accused the National Assembly of contempt and illegality following revelations that Nigerian Senators are receiving a monthly “running cost” of N21 million.
This disclosure, which was made by Senator Abdurrahman Kawu Sumaila of Kano State, has sparked widespread controversy and drawn sharp criticism from various quarters, with Falana threatening legal action if the payments are not halted.
In a press statement, Falana condemned the National Assembly’s decision to increase the monthly allowances of Senators from N14 million to N21 million, describing the move as “illegal and contemptuous.”
He referenced a 2021 Federal High Court ruling by Justice Chuka Obiozor which stated that only the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) is authorised to determine the salaries and allowances of federal legislators.
“The Senate, the House of Representatives, and the National Assembly Service Commission have no power, close or semblance of power, and cannot determine, direct, command, and/or instruct the RMAFC or any person howsoever to make, determine, and/or fix the salaries, wages, remuneration, running cost, or allowances of the National Assembly,” Falana stated, quoting the court judgment.
The controversy surrounding lawmakers’ earnings began in March 2018 when Senator Shehu Sani exposed the massive salaries and allowances enjoyed by federal legislators. Sani disclosed that each Senator received N13.5 million monthly as a “running cost” in addition to a consolidated salary of over N750,000.
The revelation prompted civil society organisations, including the Socioeconomic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Enough is Enough (EiE), to file lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of these payments. These cases culminated in the 2021 ruling that invalidated the self-determined salaries of the National Assembly.
Falana then said that despite court order, the current leadership of the National Assembly disregarded the ruling by further inflating Senators’ running costs, saying that this is not only illegal but a blatant contempt of court.
“In utter contempt of the orders of the Federal High Court, the current leadership of the National Assembly increased the salaries and allowances of a Senator from N14 million to N21 million per month,” he stated.
He further highlighted the inconsistencies between the 2024 Appropriation Act and the alleged payments, stressing that there is “no provision whatsoever for monthly payment of N21 million running costs to every Senator.”
He added, “Since the running cost was not fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, it is unconstitutional and contemptuous of the valid and subsisting order of the Federal High Court.”
Falana’s statement also drew attention to the contrast between the legislators’ jumbo pay and the newly enacted Minimum Wage Act, which sets the minimum wage for workers at N70,000. “Having just enacted the Minimum Wage Act that stipulates N70,000 for workers, the jumbo emolument of N21 million for federal legislators will compound the crisis of inequality in the country,” he warned.
Falana then called on the National Assembly to immediately comply with the court’s ruling and adjust the Senators’ remuneration to reflect the country’s economic realities. “The lawmakers should comply with the law of the land. Otherwise, we shall soon embark on contempt proceedings as the legislators are not above the law of the land,” he warned.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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