Budget of NASS not up to 1% of National budget – Senator

ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – Yemi Adaramodu, the spokesman of the Senate, has disclosed that the budget of the National Assembly is just one per cent of the country’s budget.

Adaramodu explained that contrary to popular beliefs, the legislators do not earn humongous sums as salaries.

He stated this on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

According to him, “Like I said, in the 2023 budget, and our 2024 budget, the budget of the National Assembly is not up to 1% of the whole budget, it’s not up to.

“And National Assembly is an arm of government that is the legislative arm of government.”

The salaries and allowances of National Assembly members have been matters of intense debate and criticism by Nigerians.

Over the years, many have accused them of earning bogus wages and bonuses despite the country’s lean resources. The exact figures earned by the lawmakers have been shrouded in secrecy over the years.

However, Senator Adaramodu insists that in comparison with the National budget, the lawmakers’ budget is not humongous though he failed to mention what they take home.

“And so within this budget, that is where the salaries of legislators are; that is where the salaries of all the auxiliary staff in the National Assembly are.

“That is where either the bureaucrats, the technocrats, or the support staff of the National Assembly [get paid],” the Ekiti South lawmaker argued.