Hardship: Reps to disburse N704.98m to support vulnerable citizens

The House of Representatives on Thursday unveiled plans to hand over a total sum of N704.98 million contributed by Members for vulnerable citizens to cushion the effects of the current economic hardship as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy.

Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, who disclosed this during plenary, explained that the donation will be handed over to President Bola Tinubu on the 31st of December, 2024.

Members had on the 18th of July, 2024, unanimously resolved to slash 50 per cent of their salaries for six months to address the challenges faced by ordinary Nigerians.

He said: “If you recall, about five months ago, we decided to contribute half of our salaries to address the critical needs of the Nigerian people.

“I am happy to inform you that so far, we have contributed N704,907,578.82.

“On December 31, I will lead a delegation of leadership to hand over the money to the President for the exclusive use of the vulnerable Nigerians who really need it.

“The contributions you made highlight the steadfastness and dedication of members to addressing the critical needs of Nigerians,” he noted.

Speaking earlier, the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, explained that they had in July 2024 resolved to donate half of their salaries to meet the hunger needs of Nigerians as part of efforts to stop the ‘End bad governance’ protest.

He said, “This government is doing its best, but one year is not enough to address the challenges of this country. I want to plead with our colleagues to sacrifice 50 per cent for a period of six months.

“Our salary is N600,000 a month. I want to plead that we let go of 50 per cent of our salary for a period of six months.”

 

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