The House of Representatives will, on December 31, 2024, present the sum of N704.91m for the use of vulnerable Nigerians owing to the economic hardship occasioned by the removal of the petrol subsidy by the President Bola Tinubu-led government.
Recall that on July 18, the House resolved to cut 50% of their salary for six months in order to address the difficulties that ordinary Nigerians confront, following the acceptance of a motion introduced during a plenary session.
Following a resolution by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, the House resolved in July to contribute half of their wages to address Nigerians’ hunger needs as part of efforts to put an end to the protests against terrible administration.
While moving the motion, Kalu 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 percent for a period of six months.
“Our salary is N600,000 a month. I want to plead that we let go of 50 percent of our salary for a period of six months.”
Addressing his colleagues during plenary on Thursday, the Speaker, Tajudeen Abba, 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.”