By EMEKA MAMAH

LAGOS – Textile workers in  the country have said the on-going crises in the House of Representatives over N10 billion bank loan has proved the Governor of the Central Bank, CBN, Malam  Lamido Sanusi, right  in his assertion about the indulgence and intolerable high salaries and allowances of the members of the National Assembly, NASS.

The National General Secretary of the union, Comrade Issa Aremu, however, said “it is sad that they (NASS members) cannot see the linkage between their daily self-help through generous allowances and dwindling national scarce resources”.

According to Aremu, “what is gulped by the legislators can certainly not be available to bury dead youth corps members; victims of violence and take care of their dependants.”

Aremu said, “that the crises was mainly on how to repair ongoing crisis in the House of Representatives over N10bn bank loan by the House leadership to ostensibly enable it settle unpaid salaries and allowances of house members has conclusively proved that the CBN’s Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was right when he earlier raised alarm about the indulgence and intolerable pay of the legislators and that 25 per cent of the nation’s annual recurrent overhead was spent on lawmakers.

“Whatever the eventual resolution of the recent financial scandal in the House, increasingly the greatest threat to Nigeria’s democracy is the seemingly exhibited greed and arbitrary self-help of public office holders especially the legislators.

House hypocrisy
“The incoming lawmakers must look at bigger picture of Nigeria’s under-development and poverty; not petty/selfish personal picture that preoccupied the outgoing Assembly.