[b]A new detailed report has revealed that 469
members of the 8th National Assembly have at
least 2,570 aides who earn fat salaries as high
as N950,000 per month.
The report published by The Cable revealed that
out of the number, 700 aides work for lawmakers
in the senate, while the remaining 1,870 are
engaged by house of representatives members.
In addition to the regular aides, the principal
officers of both chambers have special
assistants, senior special assistants and special
advisers of varying numbers.
This category of aides, it was learnt, have a
monthly salary of a minimum of N950,000 but
was reduced to N400, 000 by the current
management of the assembly. All the aides are
paid from the coffers of the assembly.
As provided in the national assembly act, each
lawmaker, excluding principal officers, is entitled
to five aides – one senior legislative aide, two
legislative aides, a personal assistant and a
secretary.
It was discovered that in the provision, president
of the senate is entitled to 45 aides, his deputy
30 and 20 each for principal officers. Similarly,
speaker of the house of representatives has 35
assistants, deputy speaker 15 and 10 each for
the six principal officers.
The number of aides to each legislator, it was
gathered, includes those in their constituency
offices.
The monthly emolument of the aides, which
ranged from N150,000 to N250,000, sources
close to the assembly said, has been reduced to
between N75,000 and N180,000 by the current
leadership of the assembly.
It has been discovered that some of the
lawmakers have more than the statutorily
approved number of aides with the NASS still
paying heavily for it. It was also observed that
some lawmakers pay some of their aides from
their own resources.
Another anomaly discovered is that some of the
lawmakers employed only one or two aides but
are collecting the full salary for the five they are
entitled to.
This act was discovered to be perpetrated more
by the members through their constituency
offices, which they are mandatorily expected to
have in their areas but they deliberately don’t.
They submit names of non-existent staff in the
constituency office to the national assembly
service commission and collect their
entitlements directly.
According to a new report by NAN, an aide to a
senator from the south-west, working with him in
Abuja, told NAN that he had never heard of other
aides or office that his boss has in his
constituency.
“All of us, his aides are here; it is only when he
is travelling to the state that he goes with the
senior legislative aide and his younger brother,”
he said.
“The brother works with him; he is not
documented but he is in charge whenever oga
(the boss) is not around. But, all of us are
always in the office in Abuja; I do not know of
assistant or aide he has at the constituency level
or in the state.”
Lawmakers have declined to comment on the
issue.[/b]
