The Nigerian Senate has debunked claims that lawmakers in the Red Chamber receive N21 million in salaries and allowances.
News About Nigeria reports that the Senate clarified following an interview that Senator Sumaila Kawu had with British Broadcasting Corporation Hausa Service on Wednesday, where he claimed that he earns a cumulative N21 million monthly in salary and allowances.
In the interview, the Kano lawmaker said, “Given the increase effected in the Senate, each Senator gets N21 million monthly as running cost.”
However, in a statement by its spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti South), the senate clarified that running costs are different from the salary and personal allowances of lawmakers, which the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission sets.
Explaining further, he noted that “such funds are retired by relevant officers after being used for official purposes and proof of genuine expenditure,” adding that, “It’s not a personal allowance or salary of the legislator.”
The Senate spokesperson also noted that these funds cover expenses for constituency office staff.
The statement partly reads, “The funds referred to by Senator Kawu Sumaila are neither his salary nor personal allowance. These funds are allocated for the daily operation of Senators’ offices and other statutory officials. They also provide for constituency office staff, oversight functions, and community engagements. These funds are not static; they are provided for in the annual budget and must be retired with proof of genuine expenditure. They are not personal allowances or salaries for legislators.”
“The National Assembly receives about 1% of the federal budget and has never exceeded this, even in times of widespread financial constraints. The Nigerian Senate is an Assembly of accomplished professionals, administrators, and industry leaders, who are motivated by patriotic zeal, not by financial gain. The Nigerian Senate is an Assembly of accomplished and successful professionals, administrators, and captains of industry, who are not driven by these often touted egregious pecuniary bits, but rather by their patriotic zeal in the nation’s quest to breathe life into Nigeria’s political and socio-economic dry bones.”
