Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Lower Manya, Michael Teye Nyaunu, has strongly defended and justified the 50,000 cedis rent allowance meant for each of the 275 MPs of the legislature.

Michael Teye Nyaunu who lost the lower Manya seat in the last elections in an interview with XYZ News said MPs contend with a lot of issues regarding resettlement in Accra and thus the rent allowance greatly cushions them.

The 50,000 rent allowance is a 60 per cent increment in the allowance given to MPs of the last Parliament.

The total amount for all 275 MPs will amount to 13,750,000 Ghana cedis.

This has gotten tongues wagging on social media as well as from policy think tank IMANI Ghana.

But according to Michael Teye Nyaunu, MPs are a different class of people who need extraordinary treatment.

"I want everybody to accept that the GHc50, 000 to be given to MPs for me I think is okay. A Member of Parliament cannot just go and take a house in any place in the country like that...Moving all the way to come and settle in Accra is not any easy thing…so I think the 50,000 is justified.

Meanwhile, President of IMANI Ghana Franklin Cudjoe has questioned the propriety of paying such huge amount to MPs as rent allowance.