Saraki said what the media had reported about staggering amounts allocated to Senators as allowances, were far from the truth and at variance with the facts presented by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC).
There has been instant public outcry against media reports that each member of the House of Representatives had been allocated the sum of N17.5 million as wardrobe allowance, while each of 109 senators will get the sum of N21.5million.
Since the past two weeks when reports on the issue hit the airwaves, the different civil society groups had been taking turn to stage protests at the premises of the National Assembly, each appealing to the management to shelve the idea of allocating huge sums for legislators.
Saraki said he had met with officials of RMAFC on the issue and came to a conclusion that a Committee of the Senate would be set up, to re-appraise the structure of the National Assembly, and in particular, ensure that the allowances due to members are in tandem with the present reality on national economy and the mood of the nation.
He said, however, that the outcry on the issue of legislators’ allowances was a wake-up call for Senators to be more transparent in their conduct while dedicating themselves to the task of nation building.
The 8th Senate, he said, has the responsibility to minimise crises in Nigeria, while directing its energy on the task of generating more revenue for the country, and at the same time ensuring reduction in revenue leaking points in Nigeria.
Against this background, Saraki announced the composition of an 18-man Ad-hoc Committee with three members to be drawn from each of the geo-political zones of the federation, all to draw a legislative agenda for the current Senate.
The new legislative agenda, he told his colleagues, will enable the Senate to be more focused and be able to face the challenges that are already facing Nigeria. The challenges, he opined are avenues for the Senate to finding solutions to the common problems of Nigeria, as he urged Senators to work in unison for the task of making Nigeria a greater country.
The Senate President, while welcoming his colleagues back to work from their two weeks recess, urged them to accept that the challenges of dwindling revenue for Nigeria are enormous and that they are the ones to offer solutions.
He reminded the Senators that Nigerians, during the last general election, voted for change of government, with expectations that those elected have the sole responsibility of working to improve the quality of governance.
He listed the immediate challenges of the present government as the falling national revenue, non-payment of salaries of workers and the rise in the cost of operating business in Nigeria.
He said, since all the problems require immediate answers, Senators could not turn their blind eyes to them, stressing that the 8th National Assembly must live above board if they are to earn respect in the course of performing their oversight functions over the executive arm of government.Dailytimes
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