The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has initiated legal action against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
The lawsuit challenges their refusal to stop the alleged unlawful practice of determining lawmakers’ allowances and running costs.
SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, announced in a statement on Sunday that the case was filed last Friday at the Abuja Federal High Court under suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1289/2024.
The organization is seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel Mr. Akpabio and Mr. Abbas to disclose the exact amount of the monthly running costs being paid to and received by lawmakers, and the spending details of any such running costs.”
SERAP contends that the Nigerian Constitution, specifically paragraph N, section 32(d) of the Third Schedule, prohibits the National Assembly from setting its salaries, allowances, and running costs.
This development follows allegations by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo that lawmakers are setting their salaries and allowances contrary to the recommendations of the Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC).
While it was clarified that Nigerian senators earn a monthly salary of N1,063,860, the specific amount of their allowances remains undisclosed.
Meanwhile, Kano South Senator Abdurrahman Kawu Sumaila has claimed that senators receive N21 million as monthly running costs. Former Senator Shehu Sani has remarked that Sumaila’s statement has validated his previous claims on the issue.
