A former Senator who represented Adamawa North Senatorial District, Ishaku Abbo, has dismissed claims by some individuals that the monthly earnings of senators are earning jumbo salaries.
Abbo who was reacting to calls for the lawmakers to cut down their pays, said the Senators’ salaries are only “big on paper”. He maintained that salaries are not enough for the demands and challenges of the offices of the lawmakers.
Abbo made this disclosure while fielding questions in an interview on Arise TV on Sunday. He stated that his salary and allowances while serving as a senator totaled N14.4 million. He noted that today Senators earn up to N29 million.
“When I was in the Senate, cumulatively, all the allowances were N14.4 million per month. You have a wardrobe allowance, a vehicle allowance, and other allowances. Put together, that were N14.4 million, including the N1 million salary.
“It is about N29 million now. N29 million looks big on paper. I’m saying this as a honest man. I’m not trying to support the National Assembly. And I’ve been a member of that vilified institution for five years. I am not standing with them, but I’ll bare the facts on the table,” he said.
The former Senator further revealed that he became poorer after quitting his business to become a Senator.
“I had to leave the company I founded, in which I was the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, to go into governance when I won the election.
“I had to start subsiding my life because the money that was allocated to my office was absolutely nothing. This is considering the demand and challenges faced by my own constituents on a daily basis.
“I had a case of just one person I took to the hospital and I spent N14 million on one person.
“And every month, from all over Adamawa State and other States, my office was besieged with people seeking for help.
“I had to start calling some State Governors to help me with cases that are being brought from their States into my office.”
Abbo, however, alleged that some State Governors go home with up to N1 billion for State responsibilities.
He said, “From N14 million, I was paying for people’s scholarships and subsiding people’s expenses. While a State Governor in this country is going home with over N700 million security vote every month. Some go home with N1 billion to do other security issues.”
“I am poorer, much poorer as a man when I became a politician than I was before I became a politician,” Abbo added.
Recall that former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently chided the federal lawmakers for fixing their salaries and emoluments.
But in reaction, the Senate refuted the claims by Obasanjo, stating that they were lies.
Also, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission stated that each of the 109 Senators receives a total of N1.06M in salary and allowance per month.
source: Punch
Follow us for more news on our WhatsApp News Channels @
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaC505jB4hdZ5Yx9g82U
