By Abiola Olawale
Senator Sumaila Kawu, the Senator representing Kano South senatorial district of Kano State at the Senate has revealed that he earns over N21m monthly as a total take-home package.
Sumaila, who spoke during an interview with the BBC Hausa, disclosed that he earns one million as a basic monthly salary.
He added that his total take-home was around N21 million.
Kawu said: “The amount of salary I receive per month is less than N1m, if there are cuts, it comes back to about six hundred thousand naira and a little something as salary.
“Given the increase effected, in the Senate, each Senator gets N21million every month as running cost.”
The Lawmaker’s revelation comes in contrast with the figures officially quoted by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission(RMAFC).
It would be recalled that the RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, in a statement issued on Tuesday had said that each of the 109 senators in the upper chamber receives a total of N1.06m in salary and allowances per month.
According to him, a breakdown of their monthly earnings revealed that each Senator collects a monthly salary and allowances of N1,063,860, consisting of a basic salary, N168,866:70; motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance allowance, N126,650:00; and personal assistant, N42,216:66.
Others include domestic staff,126,650:00; entertainment, N50,660:00; utilities, N50,660:00; newspapers/periodicals, N25,330:00; wardrobe, N42,216,66:00; house maintenance, N8,443.33:00; and constituency allowance, N422,166:66.
The New Diplomat reports that the issue of the amount of salary being received by federal lawmakers has taken centre stage in recent days, stirring up fresh controversies.
It would be recalled that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had on Friday in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital, while receiving in audience six members of the House of Representatives, led by Ikenga UgoChinyere, who visited him, chided the federal lawmakers for allegedly fixing their salaries and emoluments.
During the parley, Obasanjo said: “In your case, with all due respect, you’re not supposed to fix your salaries. But you decide what you pay yourself, the allowances that you give yourselves (including) newspaper allowances.”
However, the National Assembly denied the allegations, saying that they have no constitutional right to fix their salaries.
Also, a former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, disclosed that each Senator collects a monthly running cost of N13.5m in addition to the monthly N750,000 prescribed by the commission.
