After the closed-door session, the senate president, Bukola Saraki, announced a suspension of the report of the committee for further legislative input. Mr. Saraki gave no further details.
The Senate, on Wednesday, suspended open debate on the report of the Ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the Finances of the upper legislative body.
The report of the review, believed to be have recommended the pruning down of the legislators’ jumbo pay, was listed in Thursday’s order paper but was later dropped for “executive session” — a euphemism for closed-door meeting.
The Senate’s decision to keep the debate out of public glare fueled speculations that the senators were opposed to the downward review of their approved pay and illegal allowances.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered reliably that the lawmakers eventually debated the issue of budget review behind closed doors.
After the closed-door session, the senate president, Bukola Saraki, announced a suspension of the report of the committee for further legislative input. Mr. Saraki gave no further details.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that during the executive session, many of the senators argued against pay cut, saying they have increasing obligations to their constituencies.
Some also contended that there was no need for any review given that the National Assembly budget for 2015 was already slashed from N150 billion to N120 billion.
Mr. Saraki had set up the committee on June 25 to review the finances of the Senate, following public outcry over the alleged huge wardrobe allowances for lawmakers.
However, the Chairman Ad hoc Committee on Media, Dino Melaye, said the lawmakers were committed to cutting their pays.
He said, “The Senate is ready to make sacrifices for the purpose of developmental purposes and that has already been indicated even in the Appropriation Act 2015.
“It is the responsibility of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission to stipulate how much we would be paid.
“But you can be sacrificial as a public officer to say: I am taking half of my salary and then taking half back to the treasury.
“Already, there has been a reduction of N30 billion in the budget of the National Assembly.
“And this N120 billion is to be shared among about six, seven organs of the National Assembly – the National Assembly Service Commission, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Institute, the Public Complaints Commission, amongst other arms of the National Assembly, including salaries and allowances of the legislative aides, numbering over 3,000.”