National Assembly Budget: What You Need To Know About Allowances.

The incredible amount of money Nigerian lawmakers make is even more ridiculous considering that the country’s monthly minimum wage is only about $90 USD a month.

While the N8.64 billion-wardrobe allowance provided for NASS lawmakers has been making headlines, similar provisions have slipped away unnoticed. The most lavish of these provisions include furniture, housing, and car allowances.

Furniture Allowance Senators will be provided with N6, 079,200 each for furniture through the budget of the National Assembly while the Senate President and his Deputy will receive theirs on the bill of the National Government. House members will receive N5, 955,637 for their furniture.

The total sum to be paid from the NASS budget to the 107 Senators is N650, 474, 400. The cost for the House of Representatives comes to an outstanding N2, 132, 118, 225 for all 358 members.

Housing Allowance Annually, the budget allocated to each senator for housing is N4, 052, 800. The total is a hefty N433, 649, 600. Members of the House will be paid N3, 970, 425 each adding up to a total of N1, 421, 412, 150.

Vehicle Loan Senators will be permitted N8, 105, 600 while members of the House will be entitled to N7, 940, 850.50. The total sum to be paid to the 107 senators will be N867, 299, 200 while the 358 House members will get N2, 842, 824, 479.

According to BudgIT, a startup dedicated to the mission of making National Assembly budgetary information accessible to Nigerians, Nigerian legislators are among the highest paid in the world. The annual salaries of Nigerian legislators fall between $150,000 to $190,000 U.S. dollars annually depending on exchange rates. Until oil prices plunged recently, Nigerian lawmakers were the second highest paid lawmakers in the world.

The incredible amount of money Nigerian lawmakers make is even more ridiculous considering that the country’s monthly minimum wage is only about $90 USD a month. On the other hand, President Buhari’s income will stand at N14.4 million, an equivalent of $70,000 USD.

Although the pay cut Buhari took is in line with his anti-corruption campaign, the government he will be overseeing will stand as a stark contrast.

Source: Saharareporters