LEDAP SUES NASS ON BOGUS SALARIES AND ALLOWANCES

Release date: June 29 2015

Lagos June 29 2015: Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) has filed a suit at the Federal High Court Abuja seeking for an order that only salaries and allowances approved by the Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) for legislators will be payable to the members of the current 8th Assembly of the National Assembly. The court is asked to order for the refund of any excess payment above what the Commission has prescribed, made to legislators of the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th Assemblies.

 

In an originating summons filed on Friday June 26 2015, LEDAP is also seeking a declaration that only the RMAFC has the constitutional power to stipulate the salaries and allowances of public officers of the federation including legislators by virtue of Paragraph 32(d) of the Third Schedule to the Constitution. The suit further seeks for an order that the proposed payment of aggregate sum of N8.6bilion Naira as wardrobe allowance to legislators of 8th Assembly of the National Assembly is arbitrary and well above the stipulation of the RMAFC for public officers of the federation, and therefore unlawful. The Plaintiff requests the court to stop the Clerk of the National Assembly from making such excess payment beyond what RMAFC has stipulated for public officers. The NGO also demands from the court an order that proposed payments of other allowances to the legislators of the 8^th Assembly that are in excess of the prescriptions of RMAFC are unlawful. Such allowances proposed for the legislators in the 2015 Appropriation Act being challenged in the suit as arbitrary, or that the amount proposed are well above the prescription of RMAFC, include constituency project allowance, furniture allowance,  housing allowance, vehicle allowance, committee sitting allowance, oversight allowance, personal staff allowance, etc.

According to the lead counsel to the plaintiff, Chino Edmund Obiagwu, ‘it is important to curtail the arbitrary self-payments by the members of the National Assembly from the national treasury. The court has a duty to ensure that no arm of the government becomes too arbitrary and acts above the law simply because it is the arm that makes the law. The constitution is clear that every public officer will only earn salaries and allowances set out by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and anything in excess of that is unlawful and amounts to corrupt enrichment”.

 

LEDAP noted in the suit that salaries and allowances of legislators have remain a national secret, despite an order of the Federal High Court in June 2012 that the Clerk of the National Assembly should disclose the earnings of the legislators. The clerk has refused to comply with this order of court even though there is no order for stay execution of the order.

In particular, LEDAP's suit against the Clerk of the National Assembly, cited as defendants, seeks the following orders:

1.     A  DECLARATION that any payment of salary, allowance, or emolument to any member of the National Assembly in excess of the amount, or outside the items, stipulated by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission is unlawful and unconstitutional, being a contravention of Part B paragraph 32(d) of the Third Schedule and sections 13, 14(2)(b) and 16(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

 

2.     A DECLARATION  that the allocation of N8.6billion by the defendant as aggregate sum for payment of ‘wardrobe allowance’, and  the appropriation of other funds by the defendant for payment of ‘constituency project allowance’, ‘recess allowance’, ‘oversight allowance’, ‘committee sitting allowance’, ‘furniture allowance’ ‘vehicle allowance’ or any other allowance to members of the 8^th Assembly of the National Assembly, which are not stipulated as salary and remuneration of legislators of the Federation by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission are unlawful and unconstitutional.

3.     AN ORDER of injunction restraining the defendant from paying any salary, allowance, or emolument to any member of the National Assembly in excess of the amount or outside the items stipulated by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission in accordance with its constitutional powers to prescribe the salaries and remuneration of public officers of the Federation.

4.     AN ORDER restraining the defendant from paying to any member of the National Assembly ‘constituency project allowance’, ‘recess allowance’, ‘oversight allowance’, ‘committee sitting allowance’, ‘furniture allowance’ ‘vehicle allowance’ or any other allowance, in so far as such allowance or emolument and the amount thereof are not prescribed by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission as salary and remuneration of legislators officers of the Federation.

5.     AN ORDER directing the defendant to take steps to obtain the refund of any sum of money paid to any member of the National Assembly of the 5^th, 6^th , 7^th and 8^th Assemblies, which are in excess of the amount or outside the items stipulated by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission for salaries and remuneration of legislators of the Federation.

6.     AN ORDER directing the defendant to file in the registry of this honourable court within one month of order(s) herein, for the purpose of enforcing compliance with the order made herein, the details of salaries, allowances and emoluments paid and payable to members of the 8^th Assembly of the National Assembly.

 

The Plaintiff is praying this Honourable Court for the determination of the following questions:

 

1.     Whether the members of the National Assembly can receive any amount as salary, allowance, emolument, gratuity or pension or howsoever called in excess of the amount, or outside the items stipulated as salary, allowance or remuneration of legislators of the Federation by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission in accordance with its constitutional powers under paragraph 32(d) of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution?

 

2.     Whether the payment of sums of money in the excess of 30 million Naira annually or over 130 million Naira per legislative tenure of 4 years as salaries and allowances to each legislator is in contravention of the constitutional intendments of sections 13, 14(2)(b) and 16(2) in Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the legal principles of representative democracy?

3.     Whether this Honourable court can make an order, under its inherent powers conferred by section 6(6)(b) of the 1999 Constitution and Federal High Court Act, to direct the effective compliance by the parties in the suit with its orders or judgment?

4.     Whether this Honourable court can make an order directing the defendant to take steps to secure the refund of any sum of money paid to any member of the National Assembly, which is in excess of the amount or outside the items stipulated by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation Fiscal Commission for remuneration of public officials?

 

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.

 Filed Copy of the summons is attached

 

 

Adaobi Egboka (Mrs)

Executive Programs Director

LEDAP