2025 Mar 14, 17:34
The analysis of the 2024 Appropriations Bill has revealed that the National Assembly's budget of N197 billion is higher than the combined budgets of 25 federal universities. This significant allocation to the federal Legislature continues President Bola Tinubu's favoring of the lawmakers, while ordinary Nigerians face the challenges of reform initiatives such as fuel subsidy removal and currency exchange rate merger. President Tinubu's first Money Bill allocated a whopping N70 billion to the lawmakers for their settlement. This allocation resulted in luxury Sports Utility Vehicles being bought for them at a unit cost of N160 million
Senate President Godswill Akpabio's statement during the budget presentation, "Our old boys are running the Executive," reflects the dominance of former members of the National Assembly within the government. President Tinubu has openly expressed his desire to control the institution, which is different from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari. Under Mr. Buhari, the National Assembly's budget was reduced to N125 billion before rising to N128 billion in 2021, N134 billion in 2022, and N228 billion in 2023. However, the "stagnant budget" during the 8th Assembly (2015-2019) was believed to be the result of strained relations between the leadership of the National Assembly and Mr
Buhari. The proposed 2024 budget of N197 billion for the Legislature is higher than the combined budgets of 26 federal universities, as well as the allocations proposed for 41 polytechnics. Lawmakers earn significantly more than most workers in Nigeria, with senators taking home an average of over N13.5 million monthly and House of Representatives members earning over N9 million monthly. The N197 billion budget of the National Assembly for 2024 also surpasses the combined allocations of 26 federal universities, with an aggregate expenditure of N195.07 billion
The universities struggle with underfunding, with a large portion of their budgets going towards salaries and wages, leaving little for research, capital projects, and overheads. The push for improved funding in the education sector has been a longstanding battle led by unions like the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), often resulting in strikes. Despite the poor funding, some committees of the National Assembly have engaged in shake-downs of universities under the guise of legislative investigations. President Tinubu's prioritization of lawmakers' interests over the universities' funding challenges raises concerns.