A former senator Shehu Sani, has revealed that he was nearly suspended for six months in the Senate in 2018 for disclosing the salaries and allowances of federal lawmakers.
In a post shared on his X account on Thursday, Sani explained that his decision to publicly reveal the financial details of senators nearly resulted in his suspension, which was only averted by the “immediate rescue” of then Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.
Sani, who represented Kaduna, stated that any senator who “blows the whistle too loudly” would have to face the consequences alone, without the support of fellow lawmakers.
“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. “Just know that if you are there and you blow the whistle too loudly, you will be ‘on your own’…”
In March 2018, Sani revealed that each senator received N13.5 million monthly as a running cost and also received N200 million as constituency project funds. His disclosure sparked backlash among his colleagues, as such financial details are typically kept confidential within the Senate.
Sani’s comments came in the wake of the Senate’s decision to suspend Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, for six months. The suspension followed the adoption of a report by the Senate’s ethics, privileges, and public petitions committee.
The suspension stemmed from a confrontation Akpoti-Uduaghan had with Senate President Godswill Akpabio on February 20. During an interview on Arise TV on February 28, the Kogi senator alleged that her troubles in the Senate began after she rejected sexual advances from Akpabio.
