Yes my monthly salary is about N1m, take-home pay is N21m, says Senator Kawu

The lawmaker representing Kano South, Senator Sumaila Kawu, has revealed that he earns over N21m monthly as a total take-home package.

This revelation is coming barely 24 hours after the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission said that each of the 109 senators in the upper chamber receives a total of N1.06m in salary and allowances per month.

The RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, said this in clarification on controversies over the real amount each lawmaker earns per month.

Based on Shehu’s disclosure, it would mean each lawmaker earns N12.72m in 12 months and the Federal Government makes a total expenditure of N1.4bn annually for all senators.

A breakdown of their monthly earnings revealed that each Senator collects a monthly salary and allowances of N1,063,860, consisting of a basic salary, N168,866:70; motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance allowance, N126,650:00; and personal assistant, N42,216:66.

Others include domestic staff,126,650:00; entertainment, N50,660:00; utilities, N50,660:00; newspapers/periodicals, N25,330:00; wardrobe, N42,216,66:00; house maintenance, N8,443.33:00; and constituency allowance, N422,166:66.

However, Senator Kawu in an interview with British Broadcasting Hausa Service on Wednesday disclosed that although his monthly salary is about N1m, his total take-home was N21m, a wide margin from figures quoted by RMFAC.

Kawu said, “The amount of salary I receive per month is less than N1m, if there are cuts, it comes back to about six hundred thousand naira and a little something as salary.”

He noted that there are usually a few deductions by the RMFAC.

The issue of the amount of money received by federal lawmakers stirred up fresh controversies since last week.