Prince Adebayo said this in a recent interview while speaking on some burning national issues, including the controversy over the salaries and allowances of National Assembly members, the recent hunger protests and the seizure of the Nigerian presidential jets in France.
“The issue of senator’s salary is a problem of the media. Nigerian media is a subset of the Nigerian political elite. So they turn constitutional matters to entertainment. It’s the job of the media to approach the issue from an investigative point of view and unravel the truth. That’s why the constitution regards the media as the Fourth Estate of the Realm. If the first branch failed, the second branch failed, the third branch failed, the fourth estate should beam the searchlight on it.
We know what the law says and revenue mobilisation is on point about what the law says. We don’t know what they are doing in practice; that is now not a matter for speculation or a matter for individual opinion. It’s not a policy issue because the policy of the state regarding remuneration of public officials is that they don’t fix their remuneration; it’s fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission. So, that’s what the law says.
But if they are getting some money not approved behind, it’s a matter of fact and only a person who has direct knowledge of what is going on can speak to it. It is the duty of the media to put pressure on the National Assembly leadership and the people who work there for us to see and the ICPC should be involved in it to try to ascertain what their remuneration is. I know that the spokesperson for the Senate has already put an angle to it that says that the larger amount being mentioned by some lawmakers includes other money that is not remuneration; that other money that is meant for them to run their offices; other money that is meant for them to pay their legislative aides and to run their constituency offices.
So, it is simple enough for the media to obtain the information about the total money spent on account of senators and now break it down to know which one is remuneration and which one is not remuneration. So, that should not be a sensation across the country. It should be something that should be easily ascertained.”
While addressing the advocacy for part-time legislation, he said:
“There is no confusion; there is only cover-up. The amount of money they are taking home is more than the amount approved for them. They are using the old personal remuneration trick where you pay little basic salary and then you pay the rest in allowances. That is how people evade responsibility; the Senate is doing it. There are so many government agencies that are doing it. The basic salary will be small, but you have all kinds of allowances that you will be receiving. What is clear is that the person who said he was getting N21 million did not exaggerate.
He was receiving N21 million but all the amount is not his direct remuneration. The bottom line is that public money is going to the hands of the legislators beyond the amount approved by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMFC).
So, it is not the Senate that should be appealed to for transparency because the cover-up and the mischief are coming from there. It is the other agencies like the ICPC, RMFC, the Auditor General of the Federation, all the other institutions that are meant to oversight. As I said, the media should use the Freedom of Information Act to quiz the leadership of the National Assembly, the clerk of the National Assembly and all the other people involved to actually ask for clarity. The SDP as a party believe that social justice is required in the country. The party should summon its members in the National Assembly to give clarity.”