Senators Enjoying Holidays Allowance and Suffering the Masses

                    POLITICAL NOTES

It is shocking that while the present administration is pleading with Nigerians to endure the hardships it inflicted on the people, the same government has not taken any deliberate steps to cut the cost of governance or reduce the allowances of the members of the political class.

When the masses and the organised labour wanted to protest against the petrol subsidy removal, the government had pleaded for understanding, explaining that the hardships would be short-lived.

But instead of encouraging the political office holders to also make sacrifices, President Bola Tinubu had forwarded a bill to the National Assembly seeking to amend the 2022 Supplementary Act to allocate N70 billion to improve the working conditions of new members of the National Assembly.

While the few new members of the National Assembly were allocated N70 billion, thousands of farmers who suffered the devastating 2022 floods across the country, were allocated only N19 billion.

Tinubu also nominated more ministers than any previous administration since 1999 and also gave the hint that new ministries might be created when many Nigerians had expected that ministries should be merged to cut the cost of governance.

The Cable reported that Tinubu set the record for the highest number of ministerial nominees in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

So, while other Nigerians are subjected to untold hardships, members of the political class have continued their flamboyant lifestyle as indicated by last Wednesday’s revelation by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio that the senators had been sent money to enjoy their holidays.

 Akpabio was heard in a viral video, saying that the National Assembly Clerk had disbursed funds to all senators to enable them to enjoy their holiday.

“In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the clerk of the national assembly,” Akpabio said.

But following the shouts of protests by senators who felt embarrassed by Akpabio’s revelation, the president of the senate withdrew his statement, saying instead ‘prayers have been sent to mailboxes of respective senators.

“I withdraw that statement. To allow you to enjoy your holiday, the Senate President has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return,” Akpabio reportedly said.

Nigerians on social media have since begun to knock Akpabio and the leadership of the country for their selfishness and insincerity in handling the affairs of the country.