The House of Representatives yesterday endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft measures, even as it expressed the readiness to slash its salaries as its own contribution to reducing the high cost of governance in the country.
Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Mohammed Sani Zorro, who disclosed this in Lagos, said all members of the House of Representatives irrespective of party affiliations are on the same page with the President on the change agenda and are ready to give him the necessary legislative backing to actualize the agenda.
He asserted that the need to streamline the funding of the House’s activities in line with best practices across the world and Nigeria’s economic fortunes was what led the Reps to set up the Dr Clement Nwankwo Committee.
Promising Nigerians a new wave of transparency in the conduct of affairs in the House, Zorro, who represents Gumel/Gagarawa/Mai Gatari/Sule Tankarkar Federal Constituency of Jigawa State on the platform of the APC, assured that the lawmakers will abide by whatever recommendations the Nwankwo committee makes as regards oversight function allowance, sitting allowance, constituency allowance and all aspects of funding of the House of Representatives.
Speaking on whether the lawmakers can reduce their salaries, Zorro, who commended President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and some governors who opted to have their salaries slashed by 50 per cent, stressed that the House was willing to toe the same path because “we are conscious of our integrity. We want to live by example.”
While explaining that the decision of the House to review the funding of its activities was in submission to the wishes of Nigerians, he said: “I am here to reveal to you that as a result of the consistent outcry by Nigerians, who have been taking critical exception to the funding of the National Assembly, the House has decided to review the holistic funding of its activities.
“This review will also result in right sizing the funding of the various aspects of our activities. We have already put a mechanism in motion to achieve that. It may also result in the drastic cut of our finances be they salaries, allowances and running cost. We are conscious of our integrity; we will lead by example.
“What I can assure you is that we are submitting to the will of the people as a responsive and responsible legislative institution. We can no longer ignore the popular wishes of the Nigerian people who elected us in the first place. Even if the measures that we will consider will inconvenience us, we will rather make that sacrifice and respect the views of the Nigerian people once and for all.”
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