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I Earn N750, 000 as Senate President, Says Lawan
The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, has revealed his monthly salary as the chairman of the National Assembly.
He said he earns N750,000 while other members of the national Assembly receive “what is their salary.”
His declaration, however, excludes other allowances allocated to the lawmakers.
Mr Lawan spoke at the Senators Forum in Abuja on Tuesday.
He had promised that the ninth Senate will be open so Nigerians will know what the lawmakers are doing.
“The 9th National Assembly is going to be open so Nigerians will know what we are doing. I never believe there is anything called jumbo pay to the National Assembly. The National Assembly members receive what is their salary. I receive N750,000 as my salary.
“My office needs to be properly funded and therefore I cannot conduct my oversight without some backing. Nigerians need to understand this. We need to continue relating with Nigerians because they deserve to be explained to,” he said.
According to him, the National Assembly needs proper funding “because the legislature is so critical in any national development.”
The lawmakers further assured that the ninth Senate is determined to ensure that annual budget is passed within three months.
“We believe this is achievable and doable. We will work with the executive to present the appropriation bill in time and maybe at the end of September, the National Assembly will sit and work with the MDAs within a specified time frame and process the budget and before we leave for Christmas by December. We will pass the budget.
“We must ensure that this country moves forward because the economy of Nigeria depends on public expenditure. We want to see a budget process that starts and ends within three months that ends December so we go back to January to December cycle,” he said.
One of the many calls made to lawmakers of previous assemblies has been transparency in the National Assembly budget.
Many activists and Civil Society Organisations have overtime, queried the huge allowances allocated to the lawmakers as they have refused to make the details of their budget public.
One of such allowances that generated controversy in the eight Senate was the N13.5 million paid monthly to senators as ‘running cost’.
On Tuesday, Mr Lawal refused to speak specifically on the running cost, an indication the practise will continue under him.
Another development that characterised previous assemblies was the delay in passage of budgets as well as budget padding. Previous assemblies spent over three months to pass the annual budget and, on several occasions, the National Assembly gave excuses like late presentation, failure of MDAs to appear before committees, oversight functions among others for these delays.
Mr Lawan, however, urged Nigerians to expect very good outcomes from the ninth assembly.
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The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
