Members of the House of Representatives are clamouring for an upward review of their salaries and allowances, following the removal of fuel subsidy and the impact it has had on all Nigerians.
The demand is the outcome of meeting the lawmakers had on July 11 after going into an executive session during plenary.
The complaint from members arising from salaries and allowances forced the House to go into executive session in order to douse tension.
The lawmakers had also demanded from the Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, reason for the delay in the payment of their salaries and allowances, causing some of them to resort to borrowing.
However, one of the lawmakers who was at the meeting but craved anonymity because he is not permitted to speak on the outcome of the executive session, dismissed the rumour.
Refuting the speculations, the lawmaker said they only told the Speaker that their salaries and allowances could no longer meet the demand of their job, hence the upward review they are asking for.
“So nobody talked about any money or whether we have been paid or not,” the lawmaker explained.
The source said their request is sequel to the current economic reality following the subsidy removal, which has caused hardship, making goods and services to skyrocket in prices.
The lawmaker said though the Speaker did not promise them anything on the review of their salaries and allowances, because such demand could only be accommodated in the budget after due processes.
According to the legislator, the Speaker however told his colleagues that their demand on review of their salaries and allowances are not in the 2023 budget.
According to the source, the Speaker could not have promised anything, and that “we all know the situation in the country, we are all facing the same problem”.