Sumaila Kawu, the Senator representing Kano South in the 10th House of Assembly, has revealed he gets N21 million monthly for what he calls running costs.
During an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service, on Wednesday morning, Kawu revealed he got less than N1 million a month in salaries, but his allowances were an extra N21 million.
“The amount of salary(sic) 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,” he said during the interview.
“In the Senate, each senator is given N21 million every month as the cost of running his office.”
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The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) pegs the salary and allowances of each senator at N1,063,860, and those of a House of Representatives member at N794,086. Despite this, Kawu’s revelation means senators receive running cost funds that are more than 20 times their stipulated income.
In March 2018, Shehu Sani, then a senator representing Kaduna Central constituency, revealed the running cost was N13.5 million. This would mean there has been a N7.5 million jump in the figure since that time.
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On Friday, former president Olusegun Obasanjo met with lawmakers in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and condemned them for fixing their income.
He said, “In your case, with all due respect, you’re not supposed to fix your salaries. But you decide what you pay yourself, the allowances that you give yourselves (including) newspaper allowances.
“You give yourselves all sorts of things, and you know it is not right. It is immoral, (yet) you are doing it, the Senate is doing it, and you are beating your chests about it. In some cases, the executive gives you what you’re not entitled to. You all got N200 million (each).”
His claim sparked controversy and drew mixed reactions as some accused him of starting the trend when he was president.
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