Nigeria’s Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has revealed that each senator earns a total of N1,063,860 as monthly salary and allowances.
The breakdown of these earnings, according to the commission, shows that each of the 109 senators earns Basic Salary of N168,866.70; Motor Vehicle Fuelling and Maintenance Allowance, ₦126,650.00; Personal Assistant, ₦42,216.66; Domestic Staff, ₦126,650.00; Entertainment, ₦50,660.00; Utilities, ₦50,660.00; Newspapers/Periodicals, ₦25,330.00; Wardrobe, ₦42,216.66; House Maintenance: ₦8,443.33 and Constituency Allowance: ₦422,166.66.
The chairman of RMAFC, M.B. Shehu made the revelation on Tuesday in response to claims made by former Senator Shehu Sani.
Senator Sani had alleged that senators receive an additional monthly running cost of N13.5 million, on top of the N750,000 monthly allocation set by the Commission.
But Shehu said that the RMAFC lacks the constitutional authority to enforce adherence to the remuneration guidelines, though he noted that the National Assembly is addressing this issue.
According to him, some allowances are paid regularly with the basic salary, while others are disbursed as needed.
He said, “For instance, Furniture Allowance (N6,079,200.00) and Severance Gratuity (N6,079,200.00) are paid once per term, and the optional Vehicle Allowance (N8,105,600.00) is provided as a loan to be repaid before leaving office,” Shehu said.
He further stated that, aside from the President, Vice President, Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, other public and legislative officers no longer receive housing benefits, which was previously the case.
In response to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent remarks suggesting that lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly set their own salaries, the House of Representatives had refuted the allegation.
The Deputy Spokesperson for the House, Philip Agbese, labelled Obasanjo’s accusations as false and misleading.
He noted that members of the House of Representatives are driven by patriotism and a commitment to serve the Nigerian people, rather than self-interest.
He suggested that Obasanjo’s reaction was influenced by his previous conflicts with the National Assembly during his presidency.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu recently signed the N70,000 National Minimum Wage Amendment bill 2024 into law.
This follows the resolution between the government, private sector and the organised labour on N70,000 minimum wage.
The Nigerian government had offered N62,000 as the new national minimum wage but the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) rejected the offer.
After accepting the offer of N70,000 as the new minimum wage, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero; and his counterpart in the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, said the Organised Labour agreed to it because the wage reviews in the country would no longer be every five years but once in three years.
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