Former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani, has disclosed that he narrowly avoided a six-month suspension from the Senate in 2018 after revealing the salaries and allowances of Nigerian lawmakers.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Sani revealed that the move to suspend him was thwarted by the intervention of the then-Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.
“When I publicly disclosed the salaries and allowances of the senators, it nearly earned me a six-month suspension if not for divine intervention, Saraki and Ekweremadu’s immediate rescue,” Sani wrote.
Back in March 2018, Sani shocked Nigerians when he revealed that senators received N13.5 million monthly as running costs, in addition to a N200 million allocation for constituency projects. The revelation sparked public outrage and was met with resistance from fellow lawmakers, as such details are usually kept confidential.
Sani’s comments come in the wake of the Senate’s controversial suspension of Kogi Central senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, for six months. Her suspension followed a report by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions after her February 20 clash with Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
On February 28, Akpoti-Uduaghan claimed in an Arise TV interview that her troubles in the Senate started after she rejected alleged sexual advances from Akpabio, a statement that has further fueled debates over power dynamics within the legislature.
