A member of the House of Representatives, representing Oriade Federal Constituency of Osun State, Oluwole Oke, has said that the N8.5 million monthly running cost for members of the House of Representatives is not sufficient,In an interview with Punch Newspaper, the lawmaker admitted that the running cost is different from the N606,000 he earns as monthly salary as a federal lawmaker.
The lawmaker asked: “how much is N8.5 million to me as a person?
“If you have to embark on research, looking at all the bills that I have sponsored in the House, you will see that those bills that I sponsored are not ones you can just come by anyhow. They are not bills that you pick on the shelve.
“I remember when I promoted the National Pension Commission Act, it took me out to Chile and other countries like Argentina, the United Kingdom and India.”
“If you give me N8.5 million and I have to go and find out what is happening aside from the information that I get from the Internet.”
“Look at the tickets and see the flight costs even if I am flying economy class. So, how much is that?”
“If I have to engage lawyers and professionals to prepare bills for me, to work on motions for me; and get researchers also.”
Oke made claims about the pay of U.S. lawmakers, saying: “do you know how much their running costs are? It is $1 million. Do you know how much their salary is? It is $14,000 per month. Yet, you pay me $2,000 as salary.”
