SERAP’s Lawsuit Confirms Akpabio, Abbas Unconstitutionally Fix NASS Salaries, Allowances

SERAP, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, has filed a lawsuit seeking an order to direct and compel the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to stop fixing the renumeration and allowances  of the National Assembly (NASS).

This was disclosed in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1289/2024 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Abuja. SERAP also sought redress on NASS’s failure to account for the monthly running costs paid to members.

The suit filed by SERAP lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Andrew Nwankwo, and Blessing Ogwuche stated, “Directing and compelling the lawmakers to account for and return any misused or mismanaged running costs they collected would build trust in democratic institutions and strengthen the rule of law.”

The lawsuit confirmed the allegations by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said the lawmakers determined their salaries and allowances contrary to the recommendation of the Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC).

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In the suit, SERAP argued that “The provisions of paragraph N, section 32(d) of the Third Schedule to the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] make it unlawful for the National Assembly to fix its salaries, allowances and running costs.

The constitutional oath of office of lawmakers requires them to ensure transparency and accountability in the exact amounts of salaries, allowances and running costs they receive,” SERAP said.

Amongst many, SERAP also argued, “The allegations that lawmakers are fixing their own salaries, allowances and running costs are entirely inconsistent and incompatible with the constitutional oath of office and the object and purpose of the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.”

Meanwhile, the lawsuit also came amidst the ongoing discrepancies in the actual amount lawmakers earn in salaries and allowances, while Nigerians are subjected to unfavourable economic conditions.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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