Legislative attorneys working under the aegis of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) have taken steps to demand Nigerian senators to refund a portion of their salaries and allowances collected since 2023 for alleged poor performance.
A group of 40 senators are being asked to surrender their wages and allowances from holding concurrent seats in the Nigerian Senate, ECOWAS, and Pan-African parliaments, as this violates Nigerian regulations.
The legislative counsel, who have contacted the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal on behalf of clients dissatisfied with the senators’ services, have issued a pre-action notice to the Senate, addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection panel’s procedures involve serving a pre-action notice to the respondent before summoning them to appear before the panel.
The pre-action notification was given in a letter dated May 26, 2025, and signed by Amuga Jesse Williams, ALDRAP’s Administrative Secretary.
The letter is titled, “Pre-action Notice: Demand made pursuant to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Act, 2018, for the reimbursement of 78% of the total salaries and allowances received by each of the 109 senators from May 2023 to May 2025 for 12% performance and fulfillment of their statutory responsibilities to constituents (consumers), and reimbursement of all salaries and allowances received by the 40 senators who neglected their duties at the
The correspondence involved the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Secretary-General of the ECOWAS Parliament, and the Secretary-General of the Pan-African Parliament.
According to the legislative counsel, extant data show that the Senate has only performed 12 percent of its tasks since the 10th National Assembly began in May 2023.
The senators are requesting that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal reimburse 78% of their salaries and allowances from May 2023 to May 2025 to the national treasury through the Accountant-General of the Federation due to inadequate service delivery.
The letter stated, “The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, ALDRAP, is a professional association of legislative lawyers who promote adherence to the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution by legislators and others in the legislative ecosystem.” We use both public education and public interest lawsuits to enforce compliance.
“We have sworn to an affidavit of facts to back up our statements in this letter. It’s attached/enclosed. We represent the constituents (consumers) of the legislative services offered by the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 109 senators.
“Due to dissatisfaction with the legislative services provided by the aforementioned 109 senators, we, the constituents and consumers, write to make the following demands under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Act of 2018.
“Refund to the Accountant-General of the Federation 78% of the total salaries and allowances collected by each of the 109 senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from May 2023 to date (calculated at ₦15,000,000 per month per senator).”
“All salary and allowances earned by the 40 senators who are members of the ECOWAS Parliament and the Pan-African Parliament, respectively (computed at ₦15,000,000 each sitting with a minimum of 10 sittings per year).
“Take Notice that in the event of your failure to comply within seven days of the date of this letter, we shall have no other option than to commence legal steps before the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal in accordance with the relevant laws.”
In an affidavit in support of the suit, filed on May 27, 2025 and deposed to by Jesse Amuga, the lawyers explained that the suit was brought in the public interest under sections 6 and 14 of the Nigerian Constitution, Section 130 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, and Sections 69 and 104 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 2018.
The affidavit stated, “The subject matter of this suit relates to the performance or non-performance of statutory duties imposed on the 109 senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by sections 4, 88, and 89 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution, 1999 (as amended), which include lawmaking, oversight, and effective representation.
“From June 2023 to May 2025, the 10th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria engaged in a legislative pattern and conduct that amounted to failure and neglect of the statutory duties for which they collected public funds in the form of salaries and allowances, thus unjustly enriching themselves at the expense of the public.
“I rely on the empirical findings and observations made by Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, an expert in legislative law and legal drafting with 21 years of professional legal experience, as contained in his Open Letter to Senate President Godswill Obot Akpabio and Majority Leader Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele on May 26, 2025. Dr. Jaja’s letter included the following specifics and factual examples of legislative failure:
“A. The 10th Senate passed many Executive Bills without public hearings or substantial investigation, including the National Anthem Act, 2024 and the Bill to Extend the Tenure of the Inspector-General of Police, both in less than a week.
“B. On March 20, 2025, the Senate reportedly adopted a bill supporting the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State without complying with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, which requires a legal two-thirds majority vote. C. A research by the Order Paper Parliamentary Monitoring Group, evaluating 475 Bills considered since 2023, revealed that only 5.4% addressed security and only 7.3% concerned agricultural and food security – the two most important concerns of the Nigerian populace.
“D. The 10th Senate focused primarily on passing Executive-sponsored Bills to the neglect of private member bills and issues of public concern, constituting a failure of their oversight and representative roles.”
According to an affidavit obtained by the Daily Post, the National Assembly Committees on Constitutional Review have consistently received ₦5 billion since 2011. Senator Ike Ekweremadu, then Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review, allegedly spent over ₦8 billion of the cash, prompting some to want a refund. Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele’s justification for holding 39 meetings with the Executive before passing the Tax Reform Bills and conducting due diligence on the 2025 Budget is selective and inconsistent with the Senate’s actual legislative record.
“The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, publicly stated that senators were not elected to “fight” the Executive, implying that the Senate is not expected to check the Executive branch of government, which is a fundamental violation of the doctrine of separation of powers and legislative oversight duty. This same Senate, however, has engaged in severe and extreme aggressive action against a single member, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, including an unconstitutional six-month suspension that exceeds Senate Rules and judicial precedent. (a) A number of lawsuits, media campaigns, and alleged criminal prosecutions were launched against her.
“This conflicting application of legislative powers—docility toward the Executive but aggressiveness toward a fellow legislator—is a blatant violation of the Senate’s institutional role as an independent arm of government. Senators in the 10th Assembly have violated the principle of value-for-money by failing to effectively carry out lawmaking, oversight, and constituent representation duties as required by the Constitution while collecting salaries and allowances, and are obligated to refund 78% of their salaries and allowances collected from June 2023 to May 2025.
“In addition to the foregoing, several members of the National Assembly accepted appointments and were inaugurated as members of the ECOWAS Parliament and Pan-African Parliament in April 2024 while still serving as lawmakers in Nigeria, in violation of Section 68(1)(a) of the Constitution, which forbids sitting legislators from holding any other office of profit or emolument.
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“In the affidavit, the legislative attorneys further stated that the relevant senators have been conducting legislative activity within ECOWAS or Pan-African institutions while earning salary, allowances, and privileges as members of Nigeria’s National Assembly.
“This dual occupancy and remuneration from both offices is contrary to the Constitution and offends the principle of legislative integrity and accountability.”
The association argued that if the court did not direct the necessary authorities to investigate and commence the recovery of salary and allowances paid, as well as disqualify ineligible legislators, the continuous abuse of legislative power would continue to hurt Nigerian citizens.
They insisted that the court “grants the reliefs sought in this suit” for the sake of justice and public confidence.
According to a report published in October 2024 by OrderPaper, Nigeria’s leading independent parliamentary monitoring organisation, more than half of the Bills introduced in the Senate between June 2023 and May 2024 were repetitions from previous assemblies, particularly the preceding 9th Assembly.
The report also stated that over one-third of the bills discussed in the House of Representatives during the same time period were reintroduced from the previous session.
The data revealed a significant discrepancy in the sponsorship and advancement of bills. According to OrderPaper’s analysis, the Senate proposed 475 bills between June 2023 and May 2024, but only 19 were enacted.
The performance report also highlighted a weakness in addressing vital national challenges, with agriculture and food security bills accounting for only 5.8% of House Bills and 7.3% of Senate Bills. Bills linked to security represented 7.2 per cent of House Bills and 5.4 per cent of Senate Bills.
“Despite the significant challenges faced by citizens in these sectors in recent years, Bills addressing these issues remain few, with many not progressing past the first reading,” according to the report.
Overall, accessible data reveal that the 10th Senate introduced 464 bills in its first year, from May 2023 to May 2024, but only 19 passed.
In the second year, from May 2024 to May 2025, 341 bills were introduced but just seven were passed. In the House of Representatives, out of 1,727 Bills filed by December 2024, only 114 were carried.
