The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has promised to sue
both the Nigerian Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila if they fail to decrease the 2023 National Assembly budget of about N228.1 billion.
In the letter issued on January 14, 2023, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole
Oluwadare, SERAP remarked that the National Assembly leaders had to immediately
‘cut the outrageous National Assembly budget of N228.1bn, including the N30.17bn
severance payments and the inauguration costs for members (the highest ever fee ever allocated).’
The organization had additionally asked Lawan and Gbajabiamila to set a refreshed
budget for the National Assembly that would reflect the current economic realities in the country, address the debt crisis, and further prevent retrogressive economic measures.
In the approved budget for the 2023 fiscal year, the National Assembly topped its
budget from N169 billion proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari to N228.1 billion, a significant N59.1 billion increase from the country’s N21.83 trillion budget.
