Nigeria: Reps Receive N146 Million Yearly Not N29 Million, Says Ex-Lawmaker

BY ABBAS JIMOH

Former member of the House of Representatives Bashir Idris Nadabo has said the total yearly salaries and allowances received by each lawmaker is N146 million and not N29 million as reported by Daily Trust last week.

The Daily Trust reported, quoting official documents, that a House member is entitled to N29 million yearly, making him among the highest paid globally.

But Nadabo, who was a member of the House in 2003-2007, said the lawmakers collect much more than this amount.

He said each member receives a monthly salary of N1.2 million and quarterly allowances of N33 million, making a total of N146.4 million yearly.

"During our time 2003-2007, we were receiving about N280,000 monthly salary and N8 million quarterly allocations. It was at the last quarter of our tenure that the allocation was raised from N8 million to N14 million," Nadabo told Daily Trust in Abuja.

"During our time former Speaker Aminu Bello Masari did not yield to pressure to collapse the allowances as some of them are not paid until needed and applied for. It was during former Speaker Bankole that they collapsed these monies and paid upfront even when there is no need for its usage by the lawmakers like attending to the health needs of their families or constituency members. I think this is why the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) laments that the lawmakers are paying themselves padded allowances," said the former lawmaker from Katsina State.

Nadabo also said the purchase of cars for the lawmakers meant for committee duties was wrong since each of them receives car loans.

"The cars were allocated to each member despite being paid the car loans. The records of those the cars were allocated to are there in the National Assembly with the chassis numbers against the names of the legislators they were allocated to. It is however disturbing to see some of the cars bought at over N8 million being sold at car stand especially in Abuja and Kaduna at between N5 million to N6 million," he added.