By Abdullahi Mohammed
The Nigerian Senate has set up an 18 man ad hoc committee to draw up legislative agenda that would give the 8th Senate focus in pursuing its set goals . The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, affirmed this after the senate resumed from an hour-long closed-door meeting at plenary on Tuesday.
He said “the committee, which comprised three senators from each geo-political zone, was expected to carry out the assignment within one week. I seize this opportunity to announce to you, the immediate composition of an 18-man Senate ad hoc committee comprising 3 senators from each geo-political zone. The expected draft report which will be laid on the floor of the Senate will give the Senate the focus and cohesion in pursuing our set target,” he stated.
The senate president confirmed that the Senate was to set up a committee to review the salaries and allowances of legislators in view of current economic challenges.
He described ” the recent media reports on some of the allowances paid to legislators as false and reckless saying that the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) had long provided accurate figures” he said
“In the coming days, we shall be setting up a committee immediately to reappraise the structure of the National Assembly budget, review the level of openness to ensure that entire budget is in line with economic realities”.
“With the falling price of oil in the international market and the attendant reduction in revenue, the physical stress is already beginning to tell on our economy with some states becoming hard pressed to even pay salaries of workers” he lamented.
“Given the trust that Nigerians have placed on us, legislators of the 8th National Assembly to leave a historic impact on the affairs of our nation, we must choose to show that we are made for this moment” he advised.
“Without doing so, we will not have the moral authority to question ministries, departments and agencies that carry on with little regard for the public good,” he said.
Saraki reaffirmed that business could no longer be as usual as Nigerians expected answers and the desired change, which they voted for.
He noted “that the falling government revenue as taken a toll on the nation with many state governments unable to pay salaries hence the need to explore revenue streams. Implementation of capital projects under the budget has become very challenging, these problems will not wait for us to settle down.”