Obasanjo lashes out at lawmakers over ‘unconstitutional’, ‘immoral’ allowances

Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, argued that politicians setting their own emoluments is both unconstitutional and immoral.

This was said by Obasanjo during a speech he gave on Monday during the 60th anniversary celebration of the call to the bar of legal legend Aare Afe Babalola in Ado, Ekiti.

The former president expressed worry, saying those who should uphold the constitution are “the ones who undermine it.”

Obasanjo claimed that the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which he claimed the lawmakers had disbanded in order to set their own pay, was in charge of allocating salaries for elected officials.

In accordance with paragraphs 32(a-e) of Part I of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as modified), the commission is tasked with deciding on the appropriate compensation for those who hold political office, including parliamentarians.

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Explaining further, the former President said, Obasanjo said, “The point in Nigeria which I have seen and which I can attest to is most of the people who are supposed to be operationalising or managing and seeing the constitution and democracy move forward, they are actually the ones who undermine the constitution.

“All elected people, by our constitution, their emolument is supposed to be fixed by the revenue mobilisation commission, but our lawmakers set that aside and they make laws and put any emolument for themselves.

“Even if that is constitutional, it is not moral and, of course, it is neither constitutional nor moral.”

The Federal Character, for example, was “absolutely ignored,” according to Obasanjo, who also claimed that the Federal Character Commission hardly performed its duties.

According to the former president, when the constitution is “constantly violated like that,” the nation’s democracy becomes one in which anything goes.

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