The senator representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly, Shehu
Sani, has opened up on why he decided to reveal the actual running costs
received monthly by senators of the federal republic of Nigeria.
While speaking with BBC, Senator Sani said;
“I
decided to burst it open. It was a moral issue,” he said, adding that
the National Assembly is being run with little accountability about how
the money is spent.
The lawmaker said that he wants the illegal
payment to be scrapped so that the legislative arm of government will be
attractive only to people who can contribute ideas.
“The
National Assembly is one of the most non-transparent organs of
government. It pricked my conscience and I decided to burst the bubble
and open the National Assembly to public scrutiny.
“If the expenses payment system was ended then parliament would only be attractive to people who contribute ideas,” he told BBC.
He also accused the National Assembly of being one of the most non-transparent organs of government.
Recall
that the senator had in an interview revealed that he and his
colleagues receive N13.5 million monthly as “running cost”, aside a
N750,000 monthly consolidated salary and allowances which they also
receive.
His revelation is the first by a lawmaker from the
Senate since the clamour by Nigerians for a full disclosure of
lawmakers’ earnings
