By Samson Atekojo Usman
President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan on Monday unveiled salaries and emoluments of Federal lawmakers which he said, was the lowest in a presidential democracy.
Monday’s unveiling of legislators earnings was at the backdrop of long confusions and secrecy on how much Nigerian lawmakers in the upper and lower legislative Chambers earn.
In a paper presented at the first Distinguished Parliamentarians Lecture Series organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Lawan said the monthly salary of a Senator is N1.5 million, while that of a member of House of Representatives is N1.3 million.
According to him, the N13 million earlier argued in the public space a few years ago as the monthly salary of a Senator was the quarterly office running allowance.
“The total salary of a member of the Senate is about N1.5 million and that of the House of Representatives is about N1.3 million.
“The quarterly office allowance for legislators is what was erroneously conflated with a monthly income to create confusion and mislead the Nigerian people.
“The average office running cost for a senator is about N13 million while that of a member of the House of Representatives is N8 million”, he said.
Arithmetically, N13 million office running cost for a Senator amounts to N52 million a year while the N8 million for a member of the House of Representatives amounts to N32 million in a year.
But the President of the Senate in the lecture titled: “The Legislature, Legislative Mandate and People – The Reality and the Public Perception”, said N13 million and N8 million quarterly office running cost for a member of the Senate and House of Representatives respectively, are the lowest of any presidential democracy in the world.
The allowances as enumerated by him, cover costs of local/international travel consulting of professional services, medical services, office stationeries/computers, consumables, books, newspapers, magazines, maintenance of motor vehicles and office equipment etc.
Lawan faulted those who believed that the 9th National Assembly is a rubber stamp of the executive, saying it is one geared towards ensuring that the required synergy exists between the legislature and the executive for good governance in Nigeria”.
In his welcome address, the Director-General of NILDS, Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, said the lecture series is conceptualized by the Institute as a veritable platform for addressing contemporary issues in the country and deepening the practice of democracy
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