MEMBERS of Nigeria’s House of Representatives have promised to donate N648 million as part of their financial contribution to fight hunger across the country.
The lawmakers will make the donation by slashing 50 per cent of their monthly salaries for six months.
At a session on Thursday, July 18, which was presided over by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, his deputy, Benjamin Kalu, moved a motion, urging his colleagues to make the sacrifice as a gesture to support the country.
“This government is doing its best but one year is not enough to address the challenges of this country. I want to plead with our colleagues to sacrifice 50 per cent for six months.
“Our salary is N600,000 a month. I want to plead that we let go of 50 per cent of our salary for six months,” Kalu said.
Nigeria currently has 360 members of the House of Representatives. If each member of the house pays N300,000 monthly, the legislative chamber will be contributing N108 million monthly, which translates into N648 million for six months.
RMAFC calculation
On the contrary, a report by The ICIR shows that according to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), a member of the House of Representatives earns as high as N794,087 monthly.
This is N194,087 higher than the amount declared by the deputy speaker.
These earnings, however, exclude allowances and loans, which are additional entitlements that come with holding such a position.
However, if this calculation is used to determine the salary contribution by the House members, the House should be donating as much as N857.61 million (N857,613,960) in six months.
Nigeria’s linger inflation
The ICIR reported that the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the country’s headline inflation rose to 34.19 per cent in June from 33.95 per cent in May 2024, increasing by 0.24 per cent points.
Also, the food inflation rose to 40.87 per cent on a year-on-year basis, compared to the 25.25 per cent rate recorded in June 2023.
The increase in the figure has consistently risen since the assumption of President Bola Tinubu in May 2023.
Tinubu met the inflation rate at 22.41 per cent and became the first President under whose administration the rate consistently jumped for 13 months.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at jameskennyogunyale@gmail or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames | LinkedIn: Kehinde Ogunyale