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Legislative aides lament unpaid allowances
January 12, 2016
   

 
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Mudiaga Affe, Calabar

Legislative aides attached to lawmakers in the Cross River State House of Assembly have lamented the non-payment of their seven months allowances.

Besides, most of the aides have yet to get any formal letter stipulating how much they would receive months after they had been working with their principals.

Those affected include 50 drivers and legislative assistants.

Statistics show that state lawmakers enjoy similar benefits as their federal counterparts as stipulated by law.


 
According to the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission, the annual salary of a speaker is N2,049,843.75 in addition to a constituency allowance of 25 per cent of their annual salaries.

A deputy speaker receives N 1,807,478.13 and 25 per cent of same as constituency allowance while members receive less but in addition, they get 20 per cent of the annual salaries for vehicles, 25 per cent for domestic staff, among others.

Our correspondent learnt that Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, had made part payment of the lawmakers’ annual entitlements, but most of the lawmakers did not bother to pay their aides from their allowances.

One of the affected aides who identified himself as ThankGod, said they had not been paid.

He said, “We understand that each member is entitled to two aides including a driver, gardener and legislative assistant and they are to be paid in line with the RMAFC recommendation on payment of political appointees and their aides.

“I can tell you that our salaries are our entitlements but our bosses have been collecting this money together with their total package without giving us anything except some peanuts as if they are doing us a favour.”

Reacting to the development, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mr. Nelson Offem, said the legislators did not owe their aides allowances.

He said their entitlements were paid to the lawmakers who in turn paid their aides.

Offem said it was the height of blackmail for the legislative aides to rush to the press to complain that they had not been paid.

Reacting to the development, an ex-lawmaker, Mr. Cletus Obun, said labourers deserved their wages and therefore saw no reason why legislators would refuse to pay them.