Lawyers sue AGF, NASS over senators’ N13.5m pay
Two legal practitioners, Messrs Monday
Ubani and John Nwokwu, have approached the Federal High Court in Lagos
seeking an order compelling members of the House of Representatives and
the senators to refund the N10m and N13.5m monthly running costs which
they had respectively collected in the last three years.
The lawyers, in their suit, are
contending that the N10m and N13.5m monthly running costs which the
lawmakers fixed for themselves were illegal.
They are urging the court to hold that
only the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission had the
power to determine salaries and allowances of National Assembly members
and other political office-holders.
Joined as defendants in the suit are the
Attorney General of the Federation, the RMAFC, the Senate and the House
of Representatives.
In an originating summons filed before
the court, the two lawyers are asking the court to determine whether by
relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, the National Assembly members have the power to fix their
salaries, wages, remuneration or allowances.
The lawyers are also asking the court to
determine “whether RMAFC can delegate its power to determine the
salaries or remuneration of the National Assembly or political
office-holders and/or if such power is subject to usurpation by the
National Assembly or any other body(ies).”
They also want the court to determine
whether the allocation of constituency projects and funds to the tune of
N200m to members of the National Assembly is not ultra vires, illegal
and unconstitutional.
They are praying the court for a
perpetual injunction “restraining the National Assembly, whether by
themselves, officers, agents, privies, servants or through any person or
persons howsoever, from further receiving the sum of N13.5m monthly
allowances or running cost or whatever sum as a running cost and N200m
as annual constituency project.”
They pray the court to order the
lawmakers to refund all the money running costs they have received since
2015 within 14 days of the judgment
The court has yet to fix any date for hearing.
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