'Reps earn N20m every four months'

SOURCE: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article10//indexn3_html?pdate=010609&ptitle='Reps earn N20m every four months'&cpdate=010609

A FORMER member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Farouk Adamu Aliyu, has queried the rationale for expending over 80 per cent of Nigeria's income on the public service.

Aliyu said if the expenditure is not curtailed, it would be difficult to address the problem of poor infrastructure in the country.

He disclosed that each serving member of the Lower House now collects over N20 million every quarterly as against the N9 million he earned within the same period during his tenure from 2003 to 2007.

This, he said, is a tip of what both elected and top officials of the government receive at the three tiers of the government in the country.

The former lawmaker, who spoke at a forum organised by Kano Youth Movement for Good Governance held at the weekend at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Kano, enjoined Nigerians to explore a viable means of checking the trend.

Agreeing that 10 years of uninterrupted civil rule was worth celebrating, Aliyu however said that it was unfortunate that the basic tenet of democracy to ensure free and fair election was yet to be adhered to by the leaders.

Aliyu, who aspired for the governorship of Jigawa State on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) in the last poll, enjoined the youth to show interest in politics and determine those who represent them at various levels of governance.

He further charged the youth to make leaders render account of their stewardship.

"I am very much aware of the fact that there are members of the House who do not know the difference between a bill and a motion but somehow they managed to get to the House due to undemocratic practices in the country. If a governor says he is constructing a road or borehole for you, don't make him feel he is doing you a favour because he is not doing it with his hard-earned money. Demand for the cost of the project, find out whether it is viable and whether it would be beneficial to you," he said.