Ninth Assembly: Lawmakers to get N19.89bn allowances in three months –Investigation

Payment of overhead allowances to lawmakers inaugurated on Tuesday in the first three months will increase their total allowances to N19.89bn, investigations by Saturday PUNCH has shown.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported that 469 lawmakers would get N4.68bn as welcome package to sort out accommodation and furniture issues.

Further investigations showed that each senator will receive N40.5m for three months as overhead allowance, with  each member of the House of Representatives  receiving N30m for the same purpose.

This means that 109 senators  will get N4.41bn as overhead allowance for the first three months while the 360 Reps will get N10.8bn in  their first three months.

Added to the N4.68bn for accommodation and furniture, the legislators  will get N19.89bn within their first three months in the red and green chambers.

Following the PUNCH’s earlier report, some Non-Governmental Organisations led by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project had been strident in opposing the N4.68bn welcome package.

Meanwhile, further investigations also showed that the process of reviewing downwards the entitlements of lawmakers and other office holders was aborted by the Presidency, which refused to officially receive a bill for the review of salaries and allowances of public office holders prepared by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

Following a  public  outcry  that the remuneration of lawmakers was not in tune with the economic realities in the country, RMAFC  embarked on downward review of allowances of all political office holders.

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