SERAP urged them to repeal the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act to reduce the budget for the National Assembly by one hundred and ten billion naira, reflect the current economic realities in the country and address the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy on the over one hundred and thirty million poor Nigerians.
SERAP also urged them to request President Bola Tinubu to present a fresh supplementary appropriation bill, to redirect the one hundred and ten billion naira to address the situation of the over twenty million out-of-school children in Nigeria, for the approval of the National Assembly.
In the letter dated 15 July, 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said the mockery, and apparent conflicts of interest and self-dealing by members of the National Assembly must stop.
Meanwhile; human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has condemned the National Assembly’s decision to allocate seventy billion naira as palliatives for its members, labeling it as illegal and contemptuous.
Falana, in a statement issued yesterday, called attention to the breach of the relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and urged the immediate reversal of these controversial measures.
The allocation of seventy billion naira, disbursed among three hundred and six newly elected members, in addition to forty billion naira set aside for the purchase of Sports Utility Vehicles and bulletproof cars for principal officials and members, has sparked public outrage.
Falana emphasized the callousness and insensitivity displayed by the National Assembly, especially when considering the economic hardships endured by the majority of Nigerians.
According to Senior Advocate, these decisions contravene Section seventy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, which outlines the appropriate remuneration and allowances for members of the National Assembly.
He affirmed that the judiciary had already ruled against such excessive allowances.
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