Lawan leaks Nigerian Senators, Reps salaries

On Monday, Nigeria’s Senate President, Ahmad Lawan revealed the salaries and emoluments of members of the National Assembly to the public in Abuja, Top Naija reports.

Lawan also said President General Muhammadu Buhari has 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 President of the Senate said the monthly Salary of a Senator was N1.5 million while that of a member of the House of Representatives was N1.3 million.

He said the N13 million 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 the House of Representatives is about N1.3m.

“The quarterly office allowance for legislators is what is erroneously conflicted with a monthly income to create confusion and mislead Nigerians.

“The average office running cost for a senator is about N13m while that of a member of the House of Representatives is N8m.”

When calculated by our correspondent, the 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 a member of the Senate and House of Representatives respectively, were 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 among others.

The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria’s bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly is the nation’s highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapter one, section four of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.