Without the illegal allowances, these are what your Senators, Reps earn

Going by the remuneration
approved for them by the
Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation
and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC),
the annual take-home (excluding
estacode, Duty Tour Allowance
(DTA) and some sundry
allowances which they are paid as
necessary), of each of the 360
members of the House of
Representatives is estimated at
N18.26 million.
Each of the 109 senators earns a
bit higher, pocketing N19.66
million each a year, PREMIUM
TIMES analyses have shown.
Additionally, each senator collects
N1.01 million a year for his or
her domestic staff, while each
member of the House of
Representatives collects N1million
for the same purpose.
Each lawmaker gets N202, 640 as
Newspapers/Periodicals allowance
per annum.
Based on the approved pay
schedule, N1.4billion is spent on
the 469 lawmakers as furniture
allowance annually, while their
car loan stands at N2.34billion
per annum.
These figures taken together, the
360 members of the House of
Representatives gulp N6.58 billion
from the nation’s treasury in
annual salaries and allowances,
while the 109 Senators cost the
nation N2.14 billion in similar
emoluments.
Cumulatively, the country shells
out a hefty N8.72 billion every
year in salaries and allowances to
lawmakers in the two chambers
of the National Assembly.
However, the amount the
Senators and Members of the
House of Representatives remit as
tax appears insignificant as their
income tax is calculated as a
function of their basic salaries
alone.
Yet the allowances, which are
non-taxed are about 870 percent
(Senators) and 820 percent (Reps)
of their basic salaries.
PREMIUM TIMES analyses of the lawmakers’
pay did however not include the illegal but
hefty quarterly allowances lawmakers pay
themselves – they call it office running cost.
It is unclear how much it is now. In 2009, it
was N192million per senator per quarter
while their House of Representatives
counterparts received N140 million per
quarter.
Insiders say the “allowances” have increased
dramatically over time. Lawmakers wouldn’t
disclose how it is.
In the twilight of the Seventh Assembly, led by
David Mark of the Peoples Democratic Party,
the clamour by Nigerian civil society
organizations only forced the legislators to
knock off N20billion from their budgetary
allocation, thus making them cut the habitual
annual budget of N150 billion to N130 billion.
First term senator Ben Murray-Bruce’s call for
reduction in allowances of members of the
National Assembly received widespread
commendation.
A number of lawmakers followed suit, giving
support to Mr. Murray-Bruce’s populist
proposal. But no such reduction in
emoluments have so far been effected.
The N7.8 billion the federal lawmakers will
pocket this year is almost the sum total of
2015 capital allocation to the Power Sector
(N4.24billion, the Ministry of Women Affairs
(N1.25billion), the Federal Ministry of
Communication Technology (N500million), the
Federal Ministry of Justice and the National
Human Rights Commission (N500million), the
Ministry of Science and Technology
(N500million), the Ministry of Petroleum
Resources (N500million), the Ministry of
Labour and Productivity (N200million) and
the Ministry of Police Affairs (N150million).
The infographics below give graphic analyses
of the lawmakers’ salaries and allowances:

Source: Premium Times.