Dino Melaye wants salaries and allowances of legislators reduced

Read the press statement below...

Senator-elect, Otunba Dino Melaye, said he
has never been a government contractors
and will not be one. He also called on
Nigerians to pressurize the incoming
Assembly to reduce exuberant salaries and
allowances of Nigerian legislators.

Melaye who will be representing Kogi West
Senatorial District under the platform of All
Progressives Congress (APC), spoke in
Abuja on Tuesday night during a reception
organized in his honour his friends and
relatives.

According to him, the high cost of running the
National Assembly is unacceptable because
Nigeria is in a serious financial crisis.


"Leaders must make sacrifices in order to move
the country forward. Contrary to suggestions from
certain quarters, I will not relinquish my activism
while in the Senate. I will continue to oppose
anything that is not in the interest of Nigerians.

"I have never done government contracts in my
life, from local, state to federal levels. I have never
done any. I will never do it. Some people said I
should abandon activism. We have gotten to a
stage in this country where people from the
grassroots can win elections. Politics is not
elitist. For me, in the Senate, anyone that is
expecting me to go there and become quiet, your
dream will not come to pass.

"Where we need to say no, we will say a capital
no. Where we need to say yes, we will say yes.
For me, in a just society, silence is a crime. We
have no other country to call our own, but
Nigeria," Melaye stated.

Speaking specifically on the need to reduce
allowances of legislators, he said: "Until we get to
an acceptable level in this country, no legislator
should keep quiet. This may not be palatable to
my colleagues, but I am using this opportunity to
call on all Nigerians that in the 8th National
Assembly, we must cut the pay of legislators. It
may not be okay. But we all need to make
sacrifices. He who must come to equity must
come with clean hands.

"If we must tell agencies of government to call
down expenses, we must lead by examples. I
want to appeal to my colleagues to support me so
that when we get down to the floor, we will cut
down all our allowances. Already, we are on
perilous times. There is need for correction. We
cannot do it. It will take the people to energise
us.

"Nigerians must rise up and tell their legislators
to support pay cut. The executive too should cut
down its expenses. For instance, in the art
budget, N3 billion was budgeted for the
president's travels. Where is the president
travelling to? Is he the president of the world? The
people need to encourage us to do the right
things."