By Ayo Kehinde
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) lawmaker representing Kano South senatorial district in the National Assembly, Abdurrahman Kawu Sumaila, says each Senator gets N21 million naira monthly as running cost.
This is coming a day after the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) – a body responsible for fixing salaries and allowances of public servants on Tuesday, revealed that each member of the Senate collects a total monthly salary and allowances of N1,063,860.00.
The Commission gave the breakdown of the cumulative take-home pay for lawmakers to include: basic salary of N168,866:70; motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance allowance of N126,650; N42,216:66 for personal assistant; domestic staff – N126,650:00; entertainment – N50,660:00; utilities – N50,660; newspapers/periodicals – N25,330:00; Wardrobe allowance – N42,216,66:00; house maintenance – N8,443.33 and constituency allowance – N422,166:66; respectively.
However, speaking to the BBC Hausa Service on Wednesday, Sumaila said the monthly salary was fixed by the RMAFC.
The former aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari said the salary of a senator is about N1 million. He noted that after taxes, the total take-home amounts to about N600,000.
“The amount of salary received per month is less than N1 million. If there are cuts, it comes back to about N600,000. In the Senate, each senator is given N21 million every month as the cost of running his office”, he said.
RMAFC boss Muhammad Shehu stated that ach senator’s annual earnings amount to ₦12.72 million, resulting in a total annual expenditure of ₦1.4 billion by the Federal Government for all senators.
But Senator Sumaila, elected on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), disclosed that his actual salary, as fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), is less than N1m and comes down to about ₦600,000 after deductions.
The Senator, however, said the leadership of the Senate has made some increases in the take-home pay of the lawmakers, with each Senator getting up to ₦21 million in salary and allowances.
He said, “My monthly salary is less than ₦1million. After deductions, the figure comes down to a little over ₦600,000.”
“Given the increase effected, in the Senate, each Senator gets ₦21million every month as running cost.”
The revelation comes at a time when the controversy and secrecy over the earnings of lawmakers in Nigeria have become matters of public debate following the recent #EndBadGovernance protest nationwide
For example, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo at the weekend accused the federal lawmakers of fixing bogus salaries and allowances for themselves in contravention of extant laws.
Also, a one-time Senator of Kaduna Central in the 8th Senate, Shehu Sani, had once publicly disclosed that each Senator collects a monthly running cost of ₦13.5m in addition to the monthly ₦750,000 prescribed by RMAFC.
In reaction to the fresh allegation by Obasanjo, the RMAFC Chairman, Muhammed Bello Shehu, explained on Tuesday that each member of the Senate collects a total monthly salary and allowances of the sum of N1,063,860.
The breakdown of the cumulative take-home pay, according to the commission, include; basic salary of N168,866:70; motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance allowance of N126,650; N42,216:66 for personal assistant; domestic staff – N126,650:00; entertainment – N50,660:00; utilities – N50,660; newspapers/periodicals – N25,330:00; Wardrobe allowance – N42,216,66:00; house maintenance – N8,443.33 and constituency allowance – N422,166:66; respectively.
The RMAFC chairman said some allowances are regular while others are non-regular. Regular allowances are paid regularly with basic salary while non-regular allowances are paid as of when due.
For instance, furniture allowance (N6,079,200 million) and severance gratuity (N6,079,200 million) are paid once in every tenure and vehicle allowance (N8,105,600 million) which is optional is a loan which the beneficiary has to pay before leaving office.
“A closer look at the monthly entitlement of Senators reveals that each Senator collects a monthly salary and allowances of the sum of N1,063,860:00 consisting of the following: Basic Salary- N168,866:70; Motor Vehicle Fuelling and Maintenance Allowance N126,650:00; Personal Assistant N42,216:66; Domestic Staff-126,650:00; Entertainment-N50,660:00; Utilities-N50,660:00; Newspapers/Periodicals-N25,330:00; Wardrobe-N42,216,66:00; House Maintenance -N8,443.33:00 and Constituency Allowance- N422,166:66; respectively,” the RMAFC chairman said in a statement he personally signed on Tuesday.
“The Commission also wishes to use this opportunity to state that any allegation regarding other allowance(s) being enjoyed by any political, public office holder outside those provided in the Remuneration (Amendment) Act, 2008 should be explained by the person who made the allegation.
“To avoid misinformation and misrepresentation of facts capable of misleading citizens and members of the International Community, the Commission considers it most appropriate and necessary to request Nigerians and any other interested party to avail themselves of the opportunity to access the actual details of the present Remuneration package for Political, Public and Judicial Office holders in Nigeria published on its website: www.rmafc.gov.ng,” he added.
The RMAFC boss, however, said the commission does not have the constitutional powers to enforce compliance with the proper implementation of lawmakers’ remuneration packages.
He added that aside from the President, Vice President, Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, all public and legislative officers are no longer provided with housing, as was the case in the past. Nonetheless, the gaping question begging for answer is who fixed the allowances of the senior lawmakers?
