on august 22, 2013 at 12:40 am in news
By EMMA UJAH, Abuja Bureau Chief
Former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, yesterday, gave a
breakdown of how the National Assembly spent about N1 trillion in the
last eight years and challenged the legislators to organise a public
hearing on their pay.
She insisted that she was right in her claims of an unduly high
expenditure by the federal legislature.
The former minister maintained in a statement in Abuja that Nigeria’s
federal law-makers were the highest paid in the world, quoting an
analysis of the Economist magazine in a recent publication.
Contrary to claims by some legislators that they earn N1 million basic
salary, Mrs. Ezekwesili put their basic salary at N30. 6 million annually,
as revealed by the Economist.
She said that she had been threatened by some legislators and also
came under other forms of attacks since she was reported to have
criticised the huge expenditure outlay of the National Assembly and
criticised the law-makers for attacking her personally, rather than
producing their own data to contradict her position.
N10.6trn controversy
She said: “On Monday, August 19, I was the keynote speaker at a Civil
Society Roundtable on “Cost of Governance” hosted by the Civil Society
Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC. My presentation approached the
topic more broadly, by calling attention to the fundamentally
unsustainable economic structure that has caused Nigeria’s development
over the last 53 years to lag behind those of countries with similar
political history with attendant high poverty level of 69 per cent of our
citizens according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
“As part of the aspect of my presentation that touched on management
of public finance, I provided eight years data on budgetary allocations or
transfers to the National Assembly.
“The data in question is available from the Ministry of Finance which
reveals that the allocations to the National Assembly between 2005 and
2013 were approximately N1trillion as follows: 2005 N 54.79billion,
2006 N 54.79billion, 2007 N 66.4billion, 2008
N114.39billion, 2009 N158.92billion, 2010 N 150billion,
2011 N 150billion, 2012 N150billion, 2013 N150billion.
“ I also provided information available in a recent global comparison of
legislators’ remuneration across the world recently published by the
United Kingdom based The Economist magazine. I stated that the report
alleged that Nigerian federal legislators with a basic salary of $189,500
per annum (N30.6m) were the highest paid lawmakers in the world.
“In reaction to various versions of news media report of my speech a
number of members of the House of Representatives and Senators
speaking as spokesmen of the National Assembly (NASS) and perhaps
without the benefit of my full speech, strangely chose to haul verbal
assaults and threats at me. The NASS in its prestige as the most
important symbol of our democracy has a duty to promote at all times
the democratic culture of tolerance for dissension.
“Would it therefore not have been more dignifying of our democracy if
the spokesmen had used the opportunity of their reaction to offer their
own data to contradict or clarify anything conveyed in my speech after
reading it? Is the issue of management of our public finance is the core
of good governance not too important for the personalizing politics of
their reaction?
“I wish to state with absolute respect for our lawmakers and our
institution that it will be more valuable and enriching for our democracy
if instead of the abusive language of their recent reaction, the NASS
immediately offered me and the rest of the Nigerian public, the
opportunity of a Public Hearing on their Budgetary Allocation and the
very relevant issue of their remuneration.
“Doing so would be consistent with Global Practice across countries of
the world where emphasis is on tenets of Open Budget to enable citizens
to track to the disaggregated level all use of public resources across
every Arm and Level of Government. In the United States for example
anyone can find the US House of Representatives Statement of payment
to each member of the House of Representative on the website -http://
disbursements.house.gov/.
“I shall make myself available to the NASS as soon as it decides to host
a Public Hearing on this and other related issues of the lawmakers’
interest”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/08/ezekwesili-challenges-federal-legislators-to-a-public-hearing-on-their-pay/#sthash.IuZNFcXB.dpuf

Jonathan's destiny is to bankrupt Nigeria - Tunde bakare

If GEJ doesn't grow balls and make the necessary cuts this country would be doomed if he wins re-election in 2015.


FTC

Why I like this woman is that she always comes with facts and figures.

Greedy law breakers we have at the uPper and lower chamber