Economic Hardship: House of Reps Members Slash Salaries by 50%

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Members of the House of Representatives in Nigeria have agreed to cut down their salaries for six months to show solidarity with the citizens, who are struggling for survival.

At the plenary on Thursday, the lawmakers said they feel the pains Nigerians are going through daily as the government of President Bola Tinubu makes efforts to revive the economy.

The country is currently undergoing a serious economic crisis, with inflation at a 28-year high of 34.19 per cent in June 2024 as revealed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, triggered by a shortage of food in the country, which has pushed prices to the rooftop.

While performing their legislative function on Thursday, the federal lawmakers at the lower chamber of the National Assembly said they were ready to trim their monthly pay by 50 per cent to save up funds for the government to support the citizens.

One of the legislators from Ogun State, Mr Ibrahim Isiaka, while moving a motion during plenary, urged Nigerians planning a nationwide protest to give the government more time to make things work.

His motion titled An Appeal to the Proponents of Proposed Nationwide Protest to Maintain Peace, Eschew Violence and Open the Windows for Meaningful Engagements with Government at all Levels in Order to Address their Issues attracted the attention of his colleagues, who said they were worried about the situation in the country.

In his contribution, the Deputy Speaker, appealed to his colleagues to agree to the pay cut, emphasising that it is a sacrifice they should be ready to make for the nation, noting that their monthly salary of N500,000 would be slashed to N250,000 for the next six months.

However, the Speaker of the House, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, quickly corrected his deputy that their pay is N600,000 and not N500,000.