Niger lawmakers complain of irregular payment

The Niger State House of Assembly has raised alarm over irregularities in payment of salaries to honourable members and some civil servants.

Members of the House of assembly said the irregularities was out to frustrate the state government efforts at getting the actual total amount of the monthly salaries of the state.

Member representing Bosso Constituency, Honorable Madaki Malik Bosso, said this while raising a matter of urgent public importance during plenary.

“In some of the months, the Legislators were overpaid while in other months, they were underpaid to balance up for the overpayment they received the previous month. The irregularities in payment of salaries are not limited to only the Legislators as some Civil Servants and other public officers are experiencing this.”

“In April 2021, Honorable Members of Niger State House of Assembly were overpaid the monthly salaries more than double of the amount due to them but in the preceding month of May 2021, the Members were not paid at all for that month salary to balance up the overpayment of April 2021.

“Again in June 2021, the Members were paid their monthly salaries following their entitled amount. And in the following week after the payment of June salaries, the Members were paid another salary a little above their entitled monthly salaries,” he said.

He expressed worries over the irregularities, saying it is a deliberate attempt to frustrate the effort of the government in getting the actual amount of the monthly salaries of the state.

Deliberating on the motion, the members called for a committee to be set up to investigate the issue “and fish out the culprits involved in this act of corruption.”

The legislators also mandated the Ministry of Finance to take over the statutory responsibility of the payment of salaries in other to avoid future reoccurrence of the irregularities in the payment of salaries.

The Speaker of the house, Honorable Abdullahi Bawa Wuse, called on the Ministry of Finance to issue each Member with Treasury Receipts as evidence of refunds of overpayment in April 2021 salary.