Two legal practitioners have approached the Federal High Court in Lagos to compel members of the House of Representatives and senators to refund the N10m and N13.5m monthly running costs which they have respectively collected in the last three years.
Monday Ubani and John Nwokwu are contending that the monthly running costs which the lawmakers fixed for themselves are illegal.
They prayed the court to hold that only the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission has the powers to determine salaries and allowances of NASS members and other political office-holders.
Joined as defendants in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation, the RMAFC, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In an originating summons filed before the court, the two lawyers are asking the court to determine whether by relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the National Assembly members have the power to fix their salaries, wages, remuneration or allowances.
The lawyers also want the court to determine “whether RMAFC can delegate its power to determine the salaries or remuneration of the National Assembly or political office-holders and/or if such power is subject to usurpation by the National Assembly or any other body(ies).”
The court should likewise determine whether the allocation of constituency projects and funds to the tune of N200m to members of the National Assembly is not ultra vires, illegal and unconstitutional.
Added to that is the peayer for a perpetual injunction “restraining the National Assembly, whether by themselves, officers, agents, privies, servants or through any person or persons howsoever, from further receiving the sum of N13.5m monthly allowances or running cost or whatever sum as a running cost and N200m as annual constituency project.”
They pray the court to order the lawmakers to refund all the money running costs they have received since 2015 within 14 days of the judgment
The court has yet to fix any date for hearing.
The lawmakers earnings became a subject of heated public discussion when Sen. Sheu Sani, representing Kaduna Central, blotted out the amounts he received monthly.
Their earmings had been shrouded in secrecy until then. But it was not much of a shock for many Nigerians when the senator took off the lid on it.
For more than seven years, the NASS has been budgeting over N100 billion for its 109 senators and 360 reps.
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