The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has disclosed that each of the 109 senators in the upper chamber receives a monthly salary and allowances totaling N1.06 million.
This clarification comes amid ongoing debates about the actual earnings of lawmakers.
According to the RMAFC, this means that each senator earns N12.72 million annually, leading to a total expenditure of N1.4 billion by the Federal Government on all senators every year.
RMAFC Chairman Mohammed Shehu made this statement on Tuesday in Abuja. He detailed that the monthly earnings for each senator include a basic salary of N168,866.70, a motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance allowance of N126,650.00, and an allowance for a personal assistant amounting to N42,216.66.
Additional allowances include N126,650.00 for domestic staff, N50,660.00 for entertainment, N50,660.00 for utilities, N25,330.00 for newspapers/periodicals, N42,216.66 for wardrobe, N8,443.33 for house maintenance, and N422,166.66 for constituency allowance.
The statement further noted, “It is important to understand that some allowances are paid regularly with the basic salary, while others are non-regular and are disbursed as needed. For instance, furniture allowance (N6,079,200.00) and severance gratuity (N6,079,200.00) are paid once per tenure, and vehicle allowance (N8,105,600.00), which is optional, is a loan that must be repaid before leaving office.”
This clarification follows a recent claim by former Senator Shehu Sani that each senator receives a monthly running cost of N13.5 million in addition to the N750,000 monthly salary set by the commission. However, Shehu responded by explaining that the RMAFC does not have the constitutional power to enforce compliance with the lawmakers’ remuneration package, though the National Assembly is working to address this issue.
Shehu also noted that apart from the President, Vice President, Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, other public and legislative officers no longer receive housing benefits as they once did.
“The commission also wishes to clarify that any allegations about other allowances received by political or public office holders outside those provided in the Remuneration (Amendment) Act, 2008, should be substantiated by the person making the claim.
“To prevent misinformation and misrepresentation of facts, which could mislead both citizens and the international community, the commission encourages Nigerians and other interested parties to access the actual details of the current remuneration package for political, public, and judicial office holders in Nigeria, available on its website: www.rmafc.gov.ng,” the statement added.
On Sunday, the Senate responded to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent comments suggesting that lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly set their salaries. Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu challenged anyone with credible evidence to prove otherwise, describing the claim that the National Assembly sets its salaries as “uncharitable and satanic.”
Adaramodu clarified that the Senate’s salaries are strictly as determined by the RMAFC under the constitution.
Former President Obasanjo, who served from May 1999 to May 2007, had criticized the practice of lawmakers determining their own pay, calling it “immoral” and recommending that the RMAFC should be responsible for setting salaries and allowances.
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