Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s words exposing payment of holiday allowance to members of the Senate has provoked widespread criticism. As the senators held their final plenary sitting before recess on August 9, Senator Akpabio, who was presiding told his colleagues that “a token” had been sent into their bank accounts by the clerk. His colleagues, who realised the likely response of the public to the gaffe, sought to correct him immediately, and, in making to correct the mistake, he used another metaphor that did not resonate well with Nigerians who have become very critical of leaders because of the cost of governance. Senator Akpabio said he had sent mails to their mailboxes. He apologised and we recognize that to err is human.

In the entire episode, two things stood out. First, this is no time for expensive jokes.

The senator may not mean it that way but such a statement could be perceived as taunting the poor. Even those in the vanishing middle class can hardly afford three square meals and pay their children’s school fees.

We agree with senators who have cautioned the Senate President in presiding over the 109-member chamber. Many citizens see leaders as dealers that cruise around in exotic cars and live secluded in castles where those who elected them have no access to.

Senator Akpabio is not new to controversies. The Senate President should see this as learning experience on his new perch where the hallowed chamber focuses on discussions and debates. Coming after a short screening of ministerial nominees, the words rubbed the people on the wrong side.

Senator Akpabio had an eight-year tenure as governor of Akwa Ibom State where he needed not take heed in presiding over the state executive council. In the former role, the proceedings were behind closed doors and no television cameras were allowed to project the sessions.

One other lesson the senators should learn from the unfortunate episode is that Nigerians want transparency and accountability in all their actions. They are representatives and servants of the people, and should thus be open to public scrutiny, especially of financial dealings. Paying senators recess allowance is not new, neither is it condemnable as such, after all, workers receive leave allowance and some are paid to take their families out on holidays. What angered the people was the presentation and non-disclosure of the amount paid. It was only after the controversy broke out that some lawmakers disclosed that it was N2 million.

Mercifully, the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly later clarified that “lawmakers are entitled to a recess allowance which is 10% of the annual basic salary of each legislator and is paid once a year” and it was budgeted for.

This shows that Senator Akpabio only said what the lawmakers were entitled to and was not necessarily a show-off. It is the optics that worry.

Nigerians have often called on the federal lawmakers to disclose all their allowances. Are they in accord with the statutory emoluments approved by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission? Soon after it was inaugurated, it broke into the open that N70 billion had been approved for the National Assembly as palliative to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal. While, as expected, this has been denied, the assembly has not fully explained what the money is for. While some have said it is for renovation of the building and furnishing of their offices, others said it is not meant for the people’s representatives only, but also the bureaucracy and other agencies attached to the National Assembly.

All eyes are on the three branches of government at every level. What Nigerians want are leaders who empathise with them and demonstrate that in all ways. It is in the enlightened self interest of leaders to keep the fact that they have a duty to douse the tension in the land so that the bubble does not burst. Senator Akpabio, in particular, should take heed of the warning by his colleagues. His apology is well taken.

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