Tuesday 14th December 2021: The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on Monday, cleared the air around rumours concerning the salaries and emoluments of members of the National Assembly to the public in Abuja.
Lawan, apart from revealing their salaries, also said the President, Muhammadu Buhari, had surpassed his predecessors on assent to bills.
He stated this in a paper presented at the First Distinguished Parliamentarians’ Lecture Series organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies.
The Senate President said the monthly salary of a senator was N1.5m, while that of a member of the House of Representatives was N1.3m.
He claimed that the N13m thrown into the public space a few years back as the monthly salary of a senator was actually their quarterly office running allowance.
Lawan said, “The total salary of a member of the Senate is about N1.5m, while that of a member of the House of Representatives is about N1.3m.
“The quarterly office allowance for legislators is what is erroneously conflicted with the monthly income to create confusion and mislead the Nigerians.
“The average office running cost for a senator is about N13m, while that of a member of the House of Representatives is N8m.”
Judging by the leader of the senate’s declaration, the accumulated N13m office running cost for a senator amounts to N52m per annum, while the N8m for a member of the House of Representatives amounts to N32m in a year.
Lawan’s lecture was titled, ‘The Legislature, Legislative Mandate and People – The Reality and the Public Perception’.
He said the N13m and the N8m quarterly office running cost for members of the Senate and House of Representatives respectively were the lowest of any presidential democracy in the world.
Lawan further stated that the allowances as enumerated by him cover costs of local/international travels, consulting of professional services, medical services, office stationeries/computers, consumables, books, newspapers, magazines, maintenance of motor vehicles and office equipment, among others.
