Lawyers Disagree With Mark Over National Assembly Jumbo Pay

Mebrim Uchechukwu

10 June 2011

Abuja — President of the Senate, David Mark was yesterday shouted down by lawyers attending the ninth edition of the National Executive Committee Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) following his remark on the controversial jumbo pay for the National Assembly members.

The Senate President who spoke through Victor Ndogba-Egba, Deputy Senate Leader in a goodwill message at the NBA meeting stated that the jumbo pay, which the federal lawmakers are currently enjoying, was not responsible for the high cost of running government in the country.

Going memory lane, he recalled that the 29 years where the country did not have a National Assembly did not make Nigerians to appreciate the importance of the National Assembly to democratic government, hence the various criticisms members receive from the public.

Mark who disagreed with claim that National Assembly jumbo pay bleeds the nation said the lawmakers rejected being held responsible for high cost of running the government.

He argued that other arms of government, through their expenses were responsible for high cost of running the government than the national assembly, calling on Nigerians to judge the National Assembly the same they judge other arms of government, like the executive and the judiciary, and stop making their federal lawmakers a scape goat for the rising cost of governance.

“I appeal that the National Assembly should be judged the same way other arms of government are judged. We must be judged the same manner ministers, judges and others are judged. We in the National Assembly reject being held responsible for the high cost of running government in the country.

“Has anybody asked how much it takes to maintain the office of a minister in the country, or how much is spent on our judges? Why it is that only the National Assembly is being accused of receiving jumbo pay in the country?” he said.

The lawyers, felt dissatisfied with the speech of the Senate President, started booing Ndoma-Egba to stop further comment which made him to hurriedly end his speech.

Joseph Daudu (SAN) the President, NBA in his earlier address had noted that there has been a great neglect of the performance of legislative duties at the expense of self gratifying measures, such as wanton increase in salaries and emoluments out of proportion with the economic realities of the people that they claim to represent.

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