Do lawmakers really earn fat salaries?

Do Nigerian Senators really earn fat salaries? This and more were the questions on the minds of young Nigerians who were at the National Assembly to inquire the workings of the legislature.

The groups were conducted on a guided tour of the National Assembly on Wednesday, January 31, 2018, where they interacted with administrative staff, a number of senators, support staff of the Senate President and Senate President Bukola Saraki.

Sola James, a representative of Public Senate told select journalists at the National Assembly that the platform was establish to enlighten youths on the legislative arm of government, and the Nigerian Senate in particular.

"Over time the youth have come to believe that lawmakers, particularly the senators, only have sessions to debate fat salaries, cars or wardrobe allowances," he said.

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"But we know that this is not true. What we have started is to show the youth what the senate is truly all about and to do this we’ve brought seven young people from all over Nigeria to observe senators debate issues in plenary amongst other activities.

"This will maybe inspire them to aim at being senators someday, but most importantly, it enlightens them on the true workings of the legislative arm of government," he added.

In his remarks, the Senate President noted that the legislature is the youngest of the three arms of government adding that there were the executive and judiciary arms even during the military regimes.

“Sometimes the perception is that we (the legislature) has nothing to add but this is not true,” he said.

“One of the challenge of the legislature is the lack of understanding of the workings of this arm of government,” he added.

The Senate President commended the group for the initiative adding that it would better enlighten the Nigerian public on what goes on in the National Assembly.