‘Lagos lawmakers earning same salaries as permanent secretaries’

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8 years ago

THE salaries and remuneration of members of the Lagos State House of Assembly are not “outrageous” as believed in some quarters, as they are “equal to those of permanent secretaries in the state’s civil service.

This was made known by a lawmaker in the assembly, Honourable Abiodun Tobun, while commenting on issues surrounding the remuneration of lawmakers, which were again brought into limelight during the launching of a book, entitled: ‘Comparative Legislatures’, written by Mr Ebenezeer Olaosebikan, who is a staffer of the Lagos State Assembly, on Thursday.

Tobun insisted that the salaries of the nation’s lawmakers were not outrageous, saying they were equal to those of permanent secretaries in the ministries.

He also noted that the pension scheme being planned for speakers and deputy speakers in the state was not out of place, stressing that the Nigerian law “clearly states that if someone has worked for 10 years and has attained the age of 45, he is entitled to pension,” while arguing that he didn’t see why lawmakers, “who serve for many years,” should be treated differently in this regard.

Earlier in his address, the Speaker of the House, Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, who was represented by his deputy, Honourable Wasiu Sanni Eshinlokun, congratulated the writer for coming up with such a book and for contributing to knowledge.

He stated that the topic of the book was relevant, and that people would know more about legislature, when they read the book.

The author of the book, Mr Olaosebikan stated in an interview that the book was meant to show the minds of policymakers and to let the people know more about good governance.

He stressed that the essence of any government was to see to the security and well-being of the people, adding that no one could divorce legislative practises from democracy.

“It is meant for us to see how we can benefit from advanced countries and what they can benefit from us. Every system adopts a system that is suitable to his socio-economic make-up. There is also a need for comparison,” he said.