National Assembly gets only 2% of Nigeria’s annual budget – Gbajabiamila

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said on Saturday the National Assembly gets only two percent of the Nigerian budget.

Gbajabiamila stated this at the 10th annual symposium of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, B-Zone, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

He was reacting to a statement credited to the Vice-Chancellor of Ahman Pategi University, Patigi, Kwara State, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, on the National Assembly and funds allocated to the parliament.

Adedimeji, who was the guest speaker at the forum, claimed that Nigeria operates the most expensive parliament in the world.

He said: “With due respect to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nigeria spends the highest amount of money on the legislators in the world and the National Assembly consumes more money than any other parliament in the world.”

But Gbajabiamila, who was represented at the workshop by a member of the House representing Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency, Ibrahim Isiaka, dismissed the varsity don’s assertion as wrong.

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He said the National Assembly gets only two percent of the country’s budget.

Gbajabiamila said: “No one till today has actually sat down to go into research and define the meaning of legislators.

“The money being spent on the National Assembly is less than two percent of the total budget of this country; but nobody, has ever looked at what is happening to the remaining 98 percent.

“When you say National Assembly, you are not talking about legislators, who are the lawmakers only. You are also talking about the National Assembly Commission. You are talking about everything, all encompassing.”

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