The senator representing Zamfara-Central, Kabir Marafa, has said his colleagues should be able to bear the prevailing cash crunch affecting the National Assembly and take it as part of their sacrifice and contribution to national development.
His remarks came on the heels of reports that senators have not been paid salaries since their inauguration on June 9 even as banks have reportedly rejected some lawmakers’ requests for loans.
It was learnt that senators had only been paid N6m housing loan, which many of them said was inadequate to get decent accommodation in Abuja.
Addressing his colleagues in a statement on Saturday, Senator Marafa said the sympathy of Nigerians should be directed to the civil servants, especially those who did not have alternative source of income, unlike senators, who he claimed were already in comfortable financial status before their elections.
He said, “The cash crunch is part of the global economic reality and President Muhammadu Buhari is doing everything possible to address the situation, but as senators, we have taken it as a sacrifice.
“We all have our individual businesses we were doing before we were elected. Being in the Senate is a national service and we have to endure the present realities. However, it will not affect the discharge of our duties as federal lawmakers”.
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