HOW STATE LAWMAKERS COLLECT BILLIONS IN SALARIES... Lawmakers in the 36 State Houses of Assembly have received about N12 billion in salaries and allowances in the first two years of their tenure and passed 601 bills, most of which were initiated by the governors. There are 978 members in the state legislatures, soaking up about N6 billion per annum in emoluments. A state legislator receives about N6 million per annum, comprising basic salaries and other perquisites, according to a Daily Trust analysis based on records obtained from the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). The RMAFC documents were obtained officially through a Freedom of Information Act request filed by this newspaper. With these emoluments, a state lawmaker earns more than 24 times the countrys Gross Domestic Product per person (GDP). This means the legislators package is 24 times what each Nigerian citizen is worth when the nations total wealth is shared by the population. According to RMAFC records, a state legislator receives an annual basic salary of N1.34 million; accommodation, N802,335; vehicle maintenance, N267,445; and recess allowance, N133,772. The lawmaker also receives, once in four years, a vehicle loan of N5.3 million, furniture allowance of N2 million and N2.6 million as severance gratuity. Other yearly emoluments are N334,306 for constituency allowance; N334,306 for domestic staff; N133,772 for utilities; and N66,861 as newspapers allowance. In addition, the state lawmaker is entitled to N25,000 as duty tour allowance (DTA) per night and 600 US dollars estacode while on foreign trips per night. Principal officers of the assemblies are entitled to responsibility allowance, while the speaker and his deputy are entitled to security and robe allowances as well as special assistants and legislative aides. Each lawmaker is also entitled to medicals and special assistants. The cost of maintaining the state lawmakers is coming to light four months after Daily Trust published details of similar fat-cat emoluments enjoyed by their counterparts in the Senate and House of Representatives, who are on top of the global MPs salaries chart. dailytrust.info/index.php/top-stories/10813-i-n-v-e-s-t-i-g-a-t-i-o-n-how-state-lawmakers-collect-billions-in-salaries
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 04:53:41 +0000
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