The Urgent Need To Downsize Nigeria’s National Assembly And Abolish The Senate

BEN AHANONU

The Nigerian government allocated ₦344.85 billion to the National Assembly for the 2026 fiscal year.

 

This budget does not break down the exact amount spent on the Senate alone. Instead, funds for both the Senate and the House of Representatives are grouped together under “Statutory Transfers.” These scarce billions could be used in many other ways to lift Nigeria’s economy.

 

Members of Nigeria’s National Assembly are currently among the highest-paid lawmakers in the world. Their huge salaries and allowances far exceed what lawmakers earn in wealthy nations like the United States. This waste of public funds must stop now.

 

Alternatively, the First Republic (1960–1966) model could suffice. During that era, Nigeria ran a part-time legislature. Lawmakers lived in their home states, kept their day jobs, and only travelled to Lagos for legislative sessions. They received only sitting allowances. That model produced true leaders who served out of conviction rather than for personal gain.

 

A Court Verdict Against Waste

On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, the Federal High Court in Lagos delivered a landmark judgment against the lawless spending of the National Assembly. Justice Yellim Bogoro ruled that the National Assembly’s ₦110 billion vehicle and allowance scheme was completely unlawful. This package included ₦40 billion spent on 465 luxury cars and ₦70 billion given as support allowances to new members.

The court found that these expenses broke procurement laws and breached public trust. The judge ordered Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to ensure that all future spending follows strict transparency and accountability laws. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) brought this case forward (Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1606/2023).

 

Opulence Amidst Extreme Poverty

Nigeria currently faces massive economic challenges, low living standards, and a low Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is deeply unfair that lawmakers live in extreme luxury while ordinary citizens, whom they claim to represent, suffer from severe hunger and poverty. These politicians receive huge sums of money for doing very little work. Their lifestyle mocks the daily struggles of the average Nigerian.

Our Call to Action: Abolish the Senate

The AlaIgbo Political Watchdog strongly believes that Nigeria can no longer afford a two-house legislature. We demand that the Senate be completely abolished.

The Senate simply duplicates the duties of the House of Representatives, which consists of the true grassroots representatives of the Nigerian people. Keeping both houses wastes scarce resources that should go toward healthcare, education, and roads.

We must restructure our government to serve the poor, not the powerful. Downsizing the National Assembly is the first step to saving Nigeria from total financial ruin.

 

 

 

PRINCE BEN AHANONU
SPOKESPERSON
ALAIGBO POLITICAL WATCHDOG