President of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan; his deputy, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila; Deputy Speaker, Mr Ahmed Idris, and 465 other lawmakers are set to receive at least N32.83bn as welcome package, investigation has shown.
It was learnt that the lawmakers start receiving the money from Monday.
A member of the federal legislature management confirmed the development to one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity on Saturday.
He had also yet to reply the text message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.
The welcome package comprises annual accommodation allowance, furniture allowance, and motor vehicle loan. It will also include the salaries and allowances of the lawmakers for the first month and the running or overhead cost for the first three months.
There was indication that the running cost might have been enhanced as each member of the House of Representatives might receive as much as N70m.
Although it could not be ascertained what a senator would receive, traditionally, senators are paid higher than the House of Representatives members. If a Rep receives N70m, a senator may receive up to N10m.
However, N32.83m is the summation of N70m into 469 places which is the total number of lawmakers at the federal level.
A source at the National Assembly confirmed to one of our correspondents that each Rep would receive N70m while another source confirmed that a senator would receive at least N70m.
The summation of the annual accommodation allowance, furniture allowance, and motor vehicle loan for either a senator or Rep is lower than N70m, thus indicating that the unofficial emoluments of the lawmakers may have been enhanced.
A senator collects N40.5m (for three months) for overhead as revealed by Senator Shehu Sani in the 8th National Assembly. The monthly salary and regular allowances of a senator is N1, 063,860.
As prescribed by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, a senator is entitled to N4,052,800 for accommodation (once a year) and a furniture allowance of N6,079,200 (once in four years). Should a senator desire, they are entitled to N8, 105,600 as motor vehicle loan. These sum up to N59, 801,460.
A member of the House of Representatives, on the other hand, receives N30m a quarter for overhead or running cost. They are also entitled to a monthly salary and a regular allowance of N794, 086.83.
The accommodation allowance of a Rep is N3, 970,425 per annum while the furniture allowance is N5, 955,637 (for four years). Should a Rep desire, they can get a motor vehicle loan of N7, 940,850.50. These sum up to N48, 660,999.83.
Confirming the allowances and the scheduled payment, members of the parliament told one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity that the payment was supposed to have been paid earlier than now.
The source added, “We have not collected anything. Up till now, I have not got one naira. I’m broke now and I’m looking for money.”
A senator also said they had not been paid.
“The car loan is about N7m. It’s different from the official car that will come later. The loan is just like an advance payment of our annual transport allowance.”
