Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticized federal lawmakers in Nigeria, accusing them of acting in violation of the constitution by determining their own salaries using public funds.
Speaking on Monday, Obasanjo emphasized that the responsibility for setting the remuneration of elected officials should lie with the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
While delivering his speech at the 60th-anniversary celebration of legal icon Afe Babalola held in Ado Ekiti, Obasanjo said: “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 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.”
In addition, Obasanjo said many aspects of the Nigerian Constitution, mostly the Federal Character had been jettisoned, stressing it portends great danger for the country.
