In a startling revelation, Senator Sumaila Kawu, representing Kano South in the 10th House of Assembly, disclosed that he receives a staggering N21 million monthly as office running costs.
This disclosure, made during an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, has reignited debates about the transparency and fairness of lawmakers’ earnings in Nigeria.
Senator Kawu revealed that his official salary is less than N1 million per month, with cuts sometimes reducing it to about N600,000.
However, the additional N21 million in allowances allocated for running his office raises questions about the actual financial benefits enjoyed by Nigerian senators.
“The amount of salary I receive per month is less than N1 million, if there are cuts, it comes back to about N600,000 and a little something as salary,” Kawu stated.
“In the Senate, each senator is given N21 million every month as the cost of running his office.”
The revelation contrasts sharply with figures from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which sets the salary and allowances of each senator at N1,063,860 and those of a House of Representatives member at N794,086. Kawu’s disclosure suggests that senators receive running cost funds more than 20 times their official income, highlighting a significant gap between official stipulations and actual disbursements.
This isn’t the first time the issue has come to light. In 2018, then-Senator Shehu Sani exposed the running cost at N13.5 million per month, indicating a significant increase of N7.5 million since that time.
The issue of lawmakers determining their pay has long been a contentious topic.
Just last week, former President Olusegun Obasanjo condemned the practice, arguing that it is immoral for legislators to fix their own income.
Speaking in Abeokuta, Ogun State, he criticized the allowances, including the N200 million recently received by each lawmaker, for being unjustifiable.
Obasanjo’s comments have added fuel to the ongoing debate, with many questioning the ethics and legality of such large allocations in a country grappling with economic challenges.
His remarks have sparked a mix of outrage and defense among lawmakers, further deepening the divide between the public and their representatives.
