“If our people lose the courage to confront what is wrong then we become collaborators.”
- Jerry Rawlings

“It does not require a majority to Prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds.”
- Samuel Adams

Objective:
Raise awareness about the disconnect between legislators and Nigerians and freedom of information requests to mark the International Right to Know Day (September 28).
469 men & women represent 170 million Nigerians.

Date: Thursday, September 26
Venue: National Assembly, Abuja

Similar protests to state assemblies in Lagos, Ilorin and Benin. More might be added.

Demands:
Peaceful march to the National Assembly with five demands, which are:
1. Immediate disaggregation of the National Assembly’s 2013 allocation of N150 billion.
Most Nigerians believe the entirety of the allocation goes to salaries for 469 people. Various members of NASS have publicly stated that this is false though some have also anonymously stated that they are overpaid.

SENATOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE MEMBER
Estimated salary per year N400 million N300 million
Estimated salary per month N33.3 million N25 million
Salary per month from RMAFC* N1.42 million N1.25 million
*Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) 2009 Report

The Economist magazine recently released a study showing that Nigerian parliamentarians are the highest paid in the world relative to GDP.
In a country where 71.5% of the population live under the poverty line (N300), their allowances are obscene.
HARDSHIP
Constituency
Furniture
Newspaper
Wardrobe
Recess
Leave
Severance Gratuity
Accommodation
Utilities
Domestic Staff
Entertainment
Personal Assistant
Motor Vehicle
Vehicle Maintenance
Duty Tour

The last disaggregated budget was in 2010 and it included some atrocious expenses. A summary table is below.

LINE ITEM BUDGET
Security Vote for Senate N1.259 billion
Refreshments & Meals N1.156 billion
Senate Admin N2.289 billion
Programmed Activities N9 billion
Total Goods & Non-Personal Services – General N31.742 billion

2. An account of income and expenditure of the over N1 trillion the National Assembly has been allocated since 2005.
There is a subsisting court judgement on this issue and our representatives in the National Assembly owe it those they represent to give an account of their use of our common wealth.

3. Make available functional email addresses, phone numbers and constituency office addresses for all members of the National Assembly.
Nigerian citizens should be able to reach their representatives.

4. ALL voting records on ALL the constitutional amendments made public.
Aside from the voting record on Section 29 4(b), none of the other records have been made public. For all Nigerians who are engaged in this review process, we deserve to know if our representatives voted in line with our wishes.

5. Attendance list for each plenary made public.
Pictures and videos from both chambers show considerable truancy. Nigerian citizens would like to know when their representatives attend plenaries.

Furthermore, ASUU is on strike to enforce an agreement.
The Federal Government is looking for N87 billion.
Based on available data, CJET under the Citizens’ Wealth Platform estimates that the National Assembly can operate with N25 billion per year.
So, for the 2014 Budget, the Federal Government will have an extra N125 billion, from which they can honor their agreement with ASUU!

We have every intention to be orderly and peaceful as we ask #OurNASS.

Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE Nigeria), Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth & Advancement (YIAGA), Reclaim Naija (Community Life Project), Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund, Say No Campaign

Freedom of Information Coalition, Beacons, SleevesUp, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Centre for Policy Advocacy and Leadership Development, Youth Alliance on Constitution & Electoral Reform, United Action for Democracy, National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Original Inhabitants Descendants Association of Abuja (OIDA).

It surprising no one has posted this here all these while, I'll try to post updates from the protest as they come from Abuja, Lagos and other locations.

Coming up

I'll be posting updates from Japhet Omojuwa's wall as he's at the venue of the protest

I'll be posting updates from Japhet Omojuwa's timeline as he's at the venue of the protest

N51.8bn is spent on members of House of Representatives for one year #OurNASS. Give education a priority

@fidelisMbah
It has cost #Nigerian tax payers about $32.5 million per Bill passed by federal legislators since 2011 based on yearly allocation. #OurNASS

@EiENigeria Democracy actually has dividends. We need #OurNASS to ensure "dividend" doesn't stop at just being a DictionaryWord in #Nigeria

Abuja, Lagos and Oyo states live....

Mods move this to FP now, nothing on FP since
More grease to ur elbow jare OP.
Where is the protest happening in Lagos?

Kano too is on

@mustysarina 2m
The protest was peaceful all around. Loads of chanting & frustrations around. The SUG, NANS & reps of ASUU were all present. #OurNASS #Kano

"@kehinde_olupo: An overpaid and under worked legislature cannot surely be a dividend of democracy...#OurNASS"

Nice move...We ve been quiet “ғόŕ too long..

Enough is Enough!..ℓ  pray we get a positive result..Amen..

Promhize: Mods move this to FP now, nothing on FP since
More grease to ur elbow jare OP.
Where is the protest happening in Lagos?

Thanks for joining me here, it is at Alausa

Promhize: Mods move this to FP now, nothing on FP since
More grease to ur elbow jare OP.
Where is the protest happening in Lagos?

Fp plzzzzzzz!!..

Wat abt ph?

Mods front page, please.



.

The only way to make Nigerian politicians to be reasonable and start thinking, is by making political positions less attractive.


In fact, the question is: are these guys really doing anything for Nigerians that's worth paying for?






.

We have been silent for too long

Are the mods on strike or they've all joined the protest?


Hmmmmm.




.

Not sure of PH but will let you know once I get the info

Titiluvly:

Fp plzzzzzzz!!..

Wat abt ph?

Promhize: We have been silent for too long

^^^


Imagine the position of Nigeria, with above 75% of her population living below poverty line.





.

Emperor_007: The only way to make Nigerian politicians to be reasonable and start thinking, is by making political positions less attractive.


In fact, the question is: are these guys really doing anything for Nigerians that's worth paying for?






.

They are doing NOTHING..jst busy embezzling our money,we voted dem in but now they dnt care abt us..We must let dem know that they are nothing!!..Xo hapi wit dis !!

MOD FRONT PAGE PLZZ

As if †ђξ country belongs to som selected morons...wicked greedy godforsakin pot belly lizards......fire on!!pray it yields positive results!

@omojuwa
You need a critical mass of people to change things but you only need one person to start change. WILL YOU BE THAT ONE PERSON? #OurNASS

pheesayor: Not sure of PH but will let you know once I get the info

OK...Following...

Onwe101: As if †ђξ country belongs to som selected morons...wicked greedy godforsakin pot belly lizards......fire on!!pray it yields positive results!

You harsh o!

[size=14pt]Nigerians demand answers from National Assembly[/size]

Thousands of protesters plan to take to the streets in Nigeria's capital Abuja and across the country on Thursday. They are demanding more government budget transparency and an end to an ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, which has left public universities shuttered since June.

The Enough is Enough Nigeria Coalition, one of the main groups calling for protests, is demanding more transparency, including a breakdown of how the National Assembly's N150 billion ($937 million) annual budget is spent.

Many online are focusing on the high salaries paid to members of Nigeria's National Assembly. Nigerian MPs rank among the highest paid in the world, earning more annually than members of the US Congress and the UK Parliament. They are paid an estimated salary of $190,000 annually, or more than 100 times Nigeria's GDP per person.

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201309251958-0023066

Pls where @ alausa is it starting

Titiluvly:

You harsh o!

u Ω̴̩̩̩̥o de feel wetin I de feel?

Titiluvly:

You harsh o!

u Ω̴̩̩̩̥o de feel wetin I de feel?

@egbas 11m
We are in front of the State Assembly RT @ojmagic: egbas where are you guys... Am at Alausa #OurNASS

Promhize: Pls where @ alausa is it starting