Senators’ Salary: Why I Decided To Bust The Bubble – Shehu Sani

Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna central, has revealed why he decided to reveal publicly what he and his colleagues earn in the National Assembly.

The senator had in an interview with TheNews, stated that senators in the National Assembly receive N13.5 million monthly as “running cost”, aside a N750, 000 monthly consolidated salary and allowances which they also receive.

The revelation which sparked widespread criticism among Nigerians, did not go down well with some of his colleagues.

But in an interview with the BBC, Sani said his conscience made him open up.

“It pricked my conscience and I decided to burst the bubble and open the national assembly to public scrutiny,” the senator said

“I decided to bust it open. It was a moral issue.”

He said that the National Assembly is being run with little accountability about how the money is spent.

Sani said if the payment system is scrapped, then the legislative arm of government will be attractive.

“The National Assembly is one of the most non-transparent organs of government. It pricked my conscience and I decided to burst the bubble and open the National Assembly to public scrutiny.

“If the expenses payment system was ended then parliament would only be attractive to people who contribute ideas,” he told BBC.