Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Aliyu Abdullahi, has lamented the
constant harassment of the Senate by Nigerians, adding that the upper
legislative chamber cannot disclose its salaries and allowances.
Abdullahi said this during a live programme on Channels
titled, ‘Politics Today.’ The spokesman also refused to state how much the
lawmakers earned in salary and allowances.
When asked to say how much he
earned, Abdullahi said it was rude of the presenter to ask him how much each
senator earned.
Abdulahi said, “You don’t expect me to come out on
national television to say this is what I earn. It is not done. I cannot ask you
as a journalist how much you earn. It is not done.
“If anybody is
interested in how much we are getting paid, you know where to get the
information. The documents are available. If Nigerians won’t believe that, is it
what I will say that they will believe?”
The Senate spokesman said the
figures released by the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against
Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), were false, adding that the Senate’s budget
was not even as high as what Sagay released.
He said Sagay was only
trying to cause unnecessary tension between the National Assembly and the
Presidency.
When confronted with figures exclusively obtained by Channels
which put the salary and allowances of each senator at N14m per month and House
of Representatives members as N8m per month, Abdullahi said he could not confirm
or deny the figures.
