The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, announced on Thursday that members of the House have collectively contributed N704.9 million from their salaries over the past five months to assist vulnerable Nigerians.
This initiative followed a resolution in which lawmakers agreed to donate half of their monthly salaries to help alleviate the hardships faced by Nigerians due to the removal of fuel subsidies and escalating poverty levels in the country.
Addressing the House at the resumption of plenary, Speaker Tajudeen revealed that the collected funds would be handed over to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to support those in need.
He said, “About five months ago, we agreed to contribute half of our salaries to address the pressing needs of the Nigerian people. I am pleased to announce that we have raised N704,907,578.82.
On December 31st, I will lead a delegation of leadership to present the funds to the President for the sole purpose of assisting vulnerable Nigerians.”
Tajudeen highlighted that the lawmakers’ contributions reflect their commitment to addressing the urgent needs of citizens.
The decision to donate half of their salaries was made following a motion raised by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu in July, during which he emphasized the need for the lawmakers to make sacrifices in the face of national challenges.
While proposing the motion, Kalu stated, “This government is doing its best, but one year is not enough to resolve all the country’s challenges. I appeal to my colleagues to contribute 50 percent of our salaries for the next six months.”
Members of the House, each earning N600,000 per month, agreed to the donation, which is aimed at addressing hunger and poverty across Nigeria.
