President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan on Monday stated that the salaries and emoluments of Nigeria’s federal lawmakers were the lowest in a presidential democracy.
In a paper presented at the first Distinguished Parliamentarians Lecture Series organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Lawan said the monthly salary of a Senator is N1.5 million, while that of a member of House of Representatives is N1.3 million.
According to the Senate President, a Nigerian senator gets a quarterly office running allowance of N13 million.
“The average office running cost for a senator is about N13 million while that of a member of the House of Representatives is N8 million”, he said.
By inference, N13 million office running cost for a Senator amounts to N52 million a year while the N8 million for a member of the House of Representatives amounts to N32 million in a year.
According to Lawan, the allowances 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 etc.
Lawan faulted those who believed that the 9th National Assembly is a rubber stamp of the executive, saying it is one geared towards ensuring that the required synergy exists between the legislature and the executive for good governance in Nigeria”.
