Zamfara, Borno no single Bill<\/p>\n
Despite receiving more than N13 billion in salaries, allowances and benefits that clearly positions members of the Nigerian Senate as the world\u2019s best paid lawmakers, at least 35 serving senators have not listed a single Bill in their name since taking office in 2011, an investigation by The Nigerian Telegraph has shown.<\/p>\n
Between 2011 and June 2013, each senator drew about N400 million in salaries, allowances, and self-allocated bonuses, according to details of lawmakers\u2019 allowances, as well as listed earnings for federal lawmakers stipulated by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).<\/p>\n
For the 35 members, the sum for two years totals N13.2 billion, and N41 billion for all 109 members.<\/p>\n
But while a majority of the lawmakers have made fair efforts at delivering in their primary lawmaking duties, sponsoring at least one Bill between June 2011 and June 2013, 35 of them have posted not one.<\/p>\n
In that duration, 74 senators, an impressive figure relative to past years, sponsored and followed through with a minimum of at least one legislation apiece. A few presented more than a dozen Bills, with the Senate Majority Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba(PDP, Cross River), sponsoring the highest number, 25.<\/p>\n
Other Senators, each with a minimum of 10 Bills are Ben Ayade (PDP Cross Rivers state) \u2013 18 Bills; Ita Enang, (PDP Akwa Ibom) \u2013 13 Bills; Dominic Obende, (ACN Edo) \u2013 12 Bills; Smart Adeyemi, (PDP Kogi) \u2013 11 Bills; and Ifeanyi Okowa, (PDP Delta) \u2013 11 Bills.
\nAt the bottom of the ranking are two states \u2013 Zamfara and Borno \u2013 with none of their Senators presenting a single Bill in two years.<\/p>\n
The figures, provided by the Senate\u2019s Business and Rules committee, which catalogues each member\u2019s legislative activities from Bills, motions to petitions, appear a fresh justification for Nigerians\u2019 perennial concern about how much their representatives at the National Assembly actually deliver to justify their huge annual earnings.<\/p>\n
Each Senator, according to RMAFC, is entitled to N8.2 million annually or N683,000 monthly as salaries. This salaries are exclusive of allowances such as estacodes, cars and furniture.<\/p>\n
But the comprehensive compensation runs far higher into several millions per quarter of a year, as the legislators also approve what they call \u201crunning cost\u201d to themselves. For \u201crunning cost\u201d, each senator currently draws N45 million quarterly \u2013 about N180 million annually, in addition to the \u201cmeagre\u201d salary.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers, weary of the public\u2019s outrage over their pay, are often quick to cite the few hundreds of thousands monthly as nothing exceptional or deserving of the aggressive attention they receive.<\/p>\n
But despite the huge pay, quite little has been delivered on legislation since 2011, according to the Business and Rules committee.
\nIn all, 342 Bills have been presented to the Senate within the period; many of them, however,\u00a0 are non-member Bills sent either by the executive, for example, budget bills; or forwarded by the House of Representatives for concurrence.<\/p>\n
Of that number, only 28 bills have been fully passed by the Senate. Again, out of that of number, 20 are executive-sponsored. So, effectively, senators have only delivered fully on eight bills after drawing over N41 billion in earnings since 2011.<\/p>\n
The eight bills comprise of two each from Ndoma-Egba, and the deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, (Enugu State); and one apiece from Chris Anyanwu (Imo State); Paulinus Igwe (Imo State); Uche Chukwumerije (Abia State); and Dahiru Kuta, (Niger State).<\/p>\n
The Business and Rules Committee chair, Ita Enang, said the apparently low output notwithstanding, the Senate recorded \u201ctremendous achievements\u201d with landmark bills in its first half of two years.<\/p>\n
Some of the \u201clandmark\u201d Bills are Occupational Safety and Health Bill (Anyanwu); Court of Appeal amendment Bill (Ndoma-Egba); Act Authentication amendment Act (Igwe); Retirement Age of Staff of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education (Chukwumerije), Hyperdec Act amendment Bill (Kuta); Federal High Court Bill (Ekweremadu); Prisons repeal and re-enactment Act (Ndoma-Egba), and State of the Nation Address Bill (Ekweremadu).<\/p>\n
The two relatively important Bills passed by the Senate and which could be considered landmark \u2013 Terrorism and Money Laundering amendment acts \u2013 are executive sponsored.<\/p>\n
The lawmakers argue that besides Bills, the Senate has also delivered on other functions including motions and resolutions on pressing national issues, confirmation of appointments, as well as oversight duties on the other arms of government.<\/p>\n
Those without Bills in two years, as analysed by The Nigerian Telegraph, based on figures from the Senate committee on Business and Rules are:<\/p>\n
StateSenator
\n1.Adamawa\u00a0\u00a0 1.Bindo Jibrilla (PDP)<\/p>\n
2.Anambra\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2.Chris Ngige (ACN)<\/p>\n
3.Bauchi\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4.Abdul Ahmed Ningi (PDP)5.Babayo Garba Gamawa (PDP)<\/p>\n
7.George Akume (ACN)<\/p>\n
5.Borno\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 8.Ahmed Zanna (PDP)9.Maina Maaji Lawan (ANPP) 10.Mohammed Ali Ndume (PDP)<\/p>\n
6.Ebonyi\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 11.Christopher Nwankwo (PDP)12.\u00a0\u00a0 Sonni Ogbuoji (PDP)<\/p>\n
7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gombe 13.\u00a0 Mohammed Danjuma Goje (PDP)<\/p>\n
8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jigawa 14.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Abdulaziz Usman (PDP)<\/p>\n
9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kaduna15.\u00a0 Ahmed Makarfi16.\u00a0 Mohammed Saleh (CPC)<\/p>\n
10.\u00a0 Kano 17.\u00a0 Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya (ANPP)<\/p>\n
11.\u00a0 Katsina 18.\u00a0 Abubakar Sadiq Yar\u2019Adua (CPC)<\/p>\n
12.\u00a0 Kebbi 19.\u00a0 Mohammed Magoro (PDP)<\/p>\n
13. )21.\u00a0 Suleiman Asonya Adokwe (PDP)<\/p>\n
14.\u00a0 Ogun 22.\u00a0 Olugbenga Onaolapo Obadara (ACN)<\/p>\n
15.\u00a0 Ondo 23.\u00a0 Robert Ajayi Boroffice (LP)24.\u00a0 Boluwaji Kunlere (LP)<\/p>\n
16.\u00a0 Osun 25.\u00a0 Olusola Adeyeye (ACN)<\/p>\n
17.\u00a0 Oyo 26.\u00a0 Hosea Ayoola Agbola (PDP)<\/p>\n
18.\u00a0 Rivers 27.\u00a0 Magnus Ngei Abe (PDP)<\/p>\n
19.\u00a0 Sokoto 28.\u00a0 Ahmed Muhammad Maccido (PDP)<\/p>\n
20.\u00a0 Taraba 29.\u00a0 Aisha Jummai (PDP)30.\u00a0 Abubakar Umar Tutare (PDP)<\/p>\n
21.\u00a0 Yobe 31.\u00a0 Bukar Ibrahim (ANPP)32.\u00a0 Alkali Abdulkadir Jajere (ANPP)<\/p>\n
22. Zamfara33. Ahmad Sani Yerima (ANPP)34.\u00a0 Kabir Garba Marafa (ANPP)35.\u00a0 Sahabi Alhaji Ya\u00fa (PDP)<\/p>\n
Total number of Bills\u2026\u2026342
\nExecutive Bills to Senate\u2026\u2026.41
\nHouse Bills to Senate\u2026\u2026\u2026\u202623 (This figure does not include all House Bills, but those passed and sent to the Senate for concurrence) Senate\u2019s\u00a0 own Bills (ALL)\u2026..273<\/p>\n
National Telegraph<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Zamfara, Borno no single Bill Despite receiving more than N13 billion in salaries, allowances and benefits that clearly positions members of the Nigerian Senate as the world\u2019s best paid lawmakers,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n