The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission has said that each of the 109 senators in the upper chamber receives a total of N1.06m in salary and allowances per month.
It clarified this in response to recent controversies over the real amount each lawmaker earns per month.
This means each lawmaker earns N12.72m in 12 months and the Federal Government makes a total expenditure of N1.4bn annually for all senators.
The RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, said this in a statement personally signed on Tuesday in Abuja.
A breakdown of their monthly earnings revealed that each Senator collects a monthly salary and allowances of N1,063,860, consisting of a basic salary, N168,866:70; motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance allowance, N126,650:00; and personal assistant, N42,216:66.
Others 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 statement added, “It is instructive to note that some allowances are regular while others are non-regular. Regular allowances are paid regularly with basic salary while non-regular allowances are paid as at when due.
“For instance, furniture allowance (N6,079,200:00) and severance gratuity (N6,079,200:00) are paid once in every tenure, and vehicle allowance (N8,105,600:00) which is optional, is a loan which the beneficiary has to pay before leaving office.”
Recently, a former senator, Shehu Sani, claimed that each senator receives a monthly running cost of N13.5m in addition to the N750,000 monthly payment prescribed by the commission.
But responding, Shehu clarified that the RMAFC does not possess the constitutional authority to enforce compliance with the remuneration package for lawmakers.
He, however, stated that this gap is being addressed by the National Assembly.
Shehu stated that apart from the President, Vice President, Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, other public and legislative officers no longer receive housing benefits, which was previously the case.
“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,” the statement added.
On Sunday, the Senate responded to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent remarks suggesting that lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly set their salaries.
Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu, challenged anyone with credible evidence to refute this, calling the idea that the National Assembly sets its salaries “uncharitable and satanic.”
Adaramodu clarified that the Senate receives salaries strictly as allocated by the RMAFC, under the constitution.
Former President Obasanjo, who served from May 1999 to May 2007, had criticised the practice of lawmakers determining their pay, calling it “immoral” and recommending that the RMAFC should handle the setting of salaries and allowances instead.
A member of the 10th Senate and Senator representing Kano South senatorial district of Kano State on the platform of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Abdurrahman Kawu Sumaila, has revealed that he earns a cumulative N21million monthly in salary and allowances.
He made the revelation despite efforts of many lawmakers to hide the fact from the general public following the hardship and hunger in the land.
Thus, as controversy continues to trail the actual take-home pay of federal lawmakers in the face of the nation’s economic realities and the secrecy surrounding lawmakers’ monthly package, a sincere member among them came out to show the actual figure.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently said that members of the National Assembly fix bogus salaries and allowances for themselves in contravention of extant laws. He said that the federal lawmakers determine their monthly salaries and allowances contrary to extant laws.
Also, a one-time Senator of Kaduna Central in the 8th Senate, Shehu Sani, had once publicly disclosed that each Senator collects monthly running cost of N13.5m in addition to the monthly N750,000 prescribed by the commission.
Sumaila, in a chat with the BBC Hausa Service on Wednesday morning, explained that although the official pay package was fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) – the body empowered by law to fix salaries and allowances of political office-holders, allowances in form of running cost made up for the overall pay package.
“My monthly salary is less than N1million. After deductions, the figure comes down to a little over N600,000.
“Given the increase effected in the Senate, each Senator gets N21million every month as running cost,” Senator Sumaila said.
This disclosure is at variance with the position of RMAFC which on Tuesday, revealed 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.
Chairman of RMAFC, Muhammed Bello Shehu, made the disclosure in a reaction to the controversy surrounding the actual salaries and allowances payable to members of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
However, 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.
He emphasised that with the exception of some few political and public office holders such as the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representative, among others, all public and legislative officers are no longer provided with housing as was the case in the past.
“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 stated.
He, however, acknowledged that RMAFC does not have constitutional powers to enforce compliance with proper implementation of the official remuneration package, a lacuna he said was being addressed by the National Assembly.
We do everything possible to supply quality news and information to all our valuable readers day in, day out and we are committed to keep doing this. Your kind donation will help our continuous research efforts.-
