The Senate has denied a claim by one of its members, Senator Sumaila Kawu, that each senator is receiving N21m monthly in salary and allowances.
The Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, in a statement on Thursday, described Kawu’s claim as untrue.
The controversy around the alleged jumbo pay of the National Assembly members came to the fore once again after President Olusegun Obasanjo said the lawmakers fixed their own pay.
While the National Assembly refuted the claim by Obasanjo, Kawu, a northern senator, in an interview with British Broadcasting Corporation Hausa Service on Wednesday, revealed that he gets N21m monthly pay.
However, he also stated that his “monthly salary is less than N1m. After deductions, the figure comes down to a little over N600,000.”
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But in a statement on Thursday, the Senate spokesman, Adaramodu, countered Kawu’s claim,
The statement read, “For the umpteenth time, the Senate is compelled to respond to obsolete allegations of phantom salaries and personal emoluments spuriously credited to Senators monthly.
“The Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Allocation Commission, the agency of government that fixes political officials’ salaries and allowances, has duly disclosed the monthly personal take-home of Senators.
“However, all arms of government and their personnel—governors, ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Directors-General, state commissioners, and even boards and parastatals, including local government councils—run their activities with running costs, and the National Assembly is no exception.
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“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.”
