Jumbo Pay: SAN Lambasts Lawmakers

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kemi Pinheiro, based in Abuja, South-West Nigeria, has accused the country’s lawmakers of draining the country’s finances through jumbo salaries and allowances.

Pinheiro, who spoke yesterday afternoon during a television programme also said the government, as currently constituted in the country, was very expensive.

He said this was the basis for the continuous running of a deficit budget.

According to him, it is lamentable that despite having hundreds of billions of Naira to spend on frivolities, the government is still confused as to its ability to pay the N18,000 minimum wage for civil servants.

While the federal government budgeted N550 million for cutlery for 2011, it also budgeted N500 million for diesel for the residence of the Vice President and another N1.57 million for daily feeding, he said.

The lawyer urged Nigerians not to vote for the current crop of lawmakers in the country in the forthcoming elections. He also condemned the idea of a full time legislature as is being practised in the country.

“The constitution is being misrepresented in this regard as it did not envisage a full time legislature.

“It only states that the lawmakers should sit for at least 180 days and did not say they should make it a full time affair,” he said and advocated that the lawmakers should be paid according to the number of times they sit in a year.

“Why would a senator go to visit his constituency in a convoy of nine vehicles? Why would they spend government money on private visits and activities?” he asked.

Pinheiro also lamented the duplicity of functions and at both the federal and state government levels, noting that it was wrong to have a minister and another substantive minister in the same ministry.

—Eromosele Ebhomele