Senator Sumaila Kawu, the lawmaker representing Kano South, has stated that his total earnings always accumulate to over N21m monthly, which is the total take-home package for a lawmaker in the country.
His disclosure came in less than 24 hours when the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission noted that the lawmakers in the red chambers of the National Assembly receive a total salary of N1.06 m per month.
On Tuesday, the Chairman of RMAFC, Mohammed Shehu, explained that lawmakers earn at least N1.06 a month. His recent clarification is in response to the recent controversy surrounding the earnings of lawmakers in the country.
According to the Chairman, the breakdown revealed that a senator in the red chambers takes earnings of N1,063,860, which includes a basic salary of N168,866:70, a motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance allowance of N126,650:00, and a personal assistant of N42,216:66.
Other amounts paid to each senator include 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.
The chairman noted that the amount announced by the commission has been approved by the Remuneration (Amendment) Act, 2008. He noted that any senator who receives a different amount from the approved amount should explain it to the public.
According to the figures provided by the chairman, each lawmaker in the country earns a total of N12.72m in a year. The Federal Government also spends a total of N1.4bn annually on all senators in the country.
He went further to mention that the clarifications were important to curb every form of misinformation and disinformation that could mislead the public and generate other information in the minds of the members of the international community. The statement also noted that the details of the earnings of political and judicial office holders in the country were listed on the commission’s website, which is www.rmafc.gov.ng. He charged every individual who was confused to visit the site to access credible information.
In a counter statement from Senator Kawu, when granted an interview with the British Broadcasting Hausa Service on Wednesday morning, he explained that the figures quoted by the RMFAC were far below what he earned in the month. He noted that his monthly salary in a month is about N1m while his total monthly take home in a month accumulates to N21 m; according to him, the commission deducts some percentage from the salary every month.
The controversy regarding the earnings of the lawmakers has generated controversy in recent weeks; in response to the controversy, the former president of the country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in his hometown, speaking with six members of the House of Representatives, led by Ikenga UgoChinyere condemned the lawmakers for firing their salaries and allowances without the approval of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
He noted that lawmakers were not supposed to be responsible for fixing their salaries, which he noted included newspaper allowances. He bemoaned that lawmakers fixing salaries was an immoral act that was against the progress of the country. The former president also noted that in some instances, the executives of the lawmakers award huge sums of up to N200 million to each of the lawmakers
In a previous controversy, the former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani publicly stated that each lawmaker in the red chambers takes N13.5m as running costs in a month. He explained that the running costs were different from the N750,000 prescribed by the commission as a monthly salary.
