A Nigerian senator earns more in Salary than Barack Obama of the US and David Cameron of the UK. I'll leave you to tell how much Nigerian president goes home with at the end of each month. An Indian lawmaker must work for at least 49 years to earn the annual salary of a Nigerian senator.
In the United States, while the minimum wage is $1,257 (N191, 667), a US lawmaker earns $15,080 (N2.3m) per month. In the United Kingdom, a lawmaker earns $8,686(N1.3m) monthly while the gross national minimum wage is $1,883 (N283, 333) per month. Also, Nigerian lawmakers earn higher than their counterparts in Sweden. With a monthly pay of $7,707 (N1.2m), a lawmaker in Sweden will need to work for over 12 years to equal what a Nigerian senator earn per annum.
The president of the United States takes home an anual salary of $400,000 (N64.156,0m), including a $50,000 expense allowance making the president the highest paid public servant in the US. The $400,000 includes everything and $350,000 out of it is taxable.
Selected States (salary per annum)
The prime minister of the United Kingdom......USD 226,627.00
French president......................................... USD 318,072.00
South African president................................USD 296,112.00
German chancelor........................................USD 296,112.00
The Prime Minister of Belgium.......................USD 174,804.00
President of the Republic of Korea.................USD 136,669.00
President of Russia.......................................USD 122,652.00
Prime Minister Portugal.................................USD 129,730.00
Prime Minister Namibia.................................USD 115,155.00
President of Angola......................................USD 60,000.00
President Argentina......................................USD 55,139.00
Prime Minister Ukraine..................................USD 61,254.00
President Zimbabwe.....................................USD 18,000.00
President of People's republic of China...........USD 10,633.00
President Liberia..........................................USD 90,000.00
Prime Minister Spain ...................................USD 102,960.00
Prime Minister Namibia................................USD 115,155.00
President Namibia.......................................USD 164,506.00
President of Colombia ................................USD 120,685.00
Prime Minister of the Netherlands.................USD 190,740.00
Prime Minister Ireland.................................USD 264,000.00
Prime Minister Denmark..............................USD 264,533.00
President Mexico........................................USD 328,839.00
USD 328,839.00 ........................................USD 427,886.00
President Austria........................................USD 422,231.00
President of the European Council................USD 508,916.00
NIGERIAN SENATORS
Basic Salary (BS) = N2,484,245.50
Hardship Allowanc: 50% of Basic Salary = N1,242,122.75
Constituency allowance: 200% of BS = N4,968,509.00
Furniture Allowance: 300% of BS = N7,452,736.50
Newspaper allowance: 50% = N1,242,122.70
Wardrobe allowance: 25% = N621,061.37
Recess Allowance: 10% = N248,424.55
Accommodation: 200% = N4,968,509.00
Utilities: 30% = N828,081.83
Domestic Staff: 35% = N863,184.12
Entertainment: 30% = N828,081.83
Personal Assistance: 25% = N621,061.37
Vehicle Maintenance Allowance: 75% = N1,863,184.12
Leave Allowance : 10% = N248,424.55
One off payments (Severance gratuity): 300% = N7,452,736.50
Motor Vehicle Allowance: 400% of BS = N9,936,982.00
Total per month = N29, 479, 749.00
A senator's anual salary = over N182 million
multiply by 109 senators (don't forget the House of rep, ministers, ambassadors, ...)
In addition to the regular and legitimate salaries and allowances of over N17 million ($113,333) and N14.99 million ($99,933) which senators and reps were collecting yearly and the irregular allowance of estacodes, duty tours etc, they were also collecting over N192m ($1.28m) and N140m ($0.93m) respectively in illicit quarterly allocation which is not provided for by RMAFC.
Effectively, a Nigerian senator was taking home at least $1.40m ($1.28m quarterly allocations + $0.113m regular salaries and allowances) as against the $0.174m an American senator takes home hence a Nigeria senator earns at least 8 times as much as an American senator and more than 3 times the American president.
Whereas a Senator in the U.S earns N21, 146,000, the same as a member of the House of Representatives; a UK Member of Parliament earn £64,766 (N14, 896,180)
In other words, a Federal Legislator in Nigeria is paid more than double what a Member of British Parliament earns per annum.
Senate President David Mark alone takes N250 million quarterly or N83.33 million per month. Senate Deputy President Ike Ekweremadu gets N150 million per quarter or N50 million a month.
Mark and Ekweremadu earns in 4 months, six times what the UK Prime Minister earns in a year. David Cameron goes home with £190,000 per anum (N43, 700,000)
In a newspaper news article entitled ‘An Assembly for looting’ written by Musikilu Mojeed with Elor Nkereuwem, the authors rightly claimed that each of the 360 members of the House of Representatives were getting N35 million in cash money in quarterly allocation while each of the 109 Senators pockets N48 million each. These allocations have however been slashed by 20% to N27 million ($180,000) and N38 million ($253,333) respectively due to the 20% reduction requested by the late president.
FCDA demolishes N2.5bn estate in Abuja
The Department of Development Control of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has demolished a 14-unit semi-detached-duplex estate in the Apo District of the capital city.
The demolished estate, worth about N2.5 billion, according to the construction engineer, contained 48 living rooms and two duplex school apartments, was said to have reached a 90 per cent completion.
The Project Manager of the estate, Samuel James Eyesore, said: “On Thursday last week, while we were working at the site at about 2.00pm, we saw an 18-passenger Coaster Bus with development control officials, a bulldozer and an Hilux-pickup van carrying armed mobile policemen numbering about 20.
“An officer of the department led the team. I tried to as much as possible for him to give me audience but all to no avail.” He said they were not given any reason for their actions, but pointed out that before the day of the incident, they were told that the land upon which they were building was meant for a nursery and primary school.
“They said we should go back and verify the original plan on the land in the office of Regional Planning of the department and do the necessary things, which we did. We have the acknowledgement letter of the office in our possession.
“I tried to explain this to the leader of the team but he did not give me any opportunity. They told us to go and apply for 10 hectares of land initially, which was allocated to us including this place, which they now demolished and without this place, the 10 hectares will not be completed. We have buildings for nursery and primary school in this, so I don’t know what their problem is”, he argued.
One of the site engineer, who spoke to Daily Sun on condition of anonymity alleged that some officials of the development control had earlier demanded the sum of N7 million from the authorities of the estate, out of which about N5 million had been given to them.
He stressed that the alleged officials had recently threatened to let heaven loose if they failed to pay the remaining N2 million as expected but that they were pleading for more time before this development.
But responding, the Public Relations Officer of Development Control, Mrs. Juicy Mudasiru, in a telephone chat dismissed the allegations saying that it was an attempt to blackmail FCTA.
According to her, “the God’s Own Estate committed an encroachment on school plot. They were served with quit notice sometimes in 2008 but they ignored it. We have after then been served them with several quit notices but they have refused to comply. “On allegations of money collection by our officials, if they have any evidence to that effect, we will be very happy if they bring it forward so that we can use it to trace the culprits and act appropriately,” the PRO noted.
Nigerian firm wins $1.2bn housing contracts in Chad
A Nigerian company, Exhimab Integrated Linx Limited has secured a $1.2 billion contract for the construction of 50,000 housing units to be financed by the Chadian Government. Chairman of the company, Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Umar, said the houses, which would be spread across all the provinces are in different categories of one, two, three and four bedroom flats in major towns in Chad Republic.
According to him, construction is expected to commence on July 1, 2010 with the completion date put at 2013. Umar described the project as one of Chad Republic’s many welfare plans to ensure that its citizenry enjoy benefit from its crude oil windfall as well as a fulfilment of President Idriss Derby’s pledge to Chadians.
Based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by his company and the Chadian Government, he said he was to provide 80 per cent of the funds by receiving international guarantee from the Chadian Government while the Government of the Republic of Chad would provide the remaining 20 per cent counterpart funds including land.
Alhaji Umar commended the Chadian President, Idriss Deby for the confidence and encouragement reposed on Exhimab, particularly on the tax holiday and waiver on building materials imported to the landlocked country.
Tagged: Mass Housing for All in Chad, the Exhimab boss declared that the project would be flagged off with the Presidents of other neighbouring countries of Chad present. The MoU was signed by Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Umar on behalf of Exhimab and the Minister of Housing and Regional Development, Mr. Djimrangar Dadnadji, for the Chadian Government.
According to the MoU, the Chadian Government would provide the land, and 20 per cent financing and administrative support needed for the success of the programme.
A former Head of State, General Abdusallam Abubakar [rtd] is now battling to escape possible trials after being indicted by the Report of House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy just as a serving minister in President Goodluck’s Jonathan administration, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah is under pressure to resign from the cabinet following the indictment of her oil firm by the committee.
“Daily Post” gathered from competent sources that Oduah who is the Federal Minister for Aviation is a major shareholder of one of the indicted oil companies, Sea Petroleum and Gas Company Limited [SPG] which jointly collected a whooping sum of N230,184 billion on Premium Motor Spirit [PMS] volume of 3,262,960225, liters but which was not supplied SPG, sources said was registered on May 3rd, 1998 “to carry on the business of licensed bunkering of petroleum and other mineral oil in all its branches”. SPG’s registration number is 221250 while it has three other Directors apart from Stella Oduah, Erotomi Buwa and Elizabeth Stewart.
Sources at the Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC] further disclosed that Oduah owns 1,999,000,000 out of the two billion shares are being held by the three other directors.
Also, the former Head of State, Genera Abubakar [Rtd] who is the major shareholder in Maizube Petroleum Limited is indicted with the report.
Abubakar holds 600,000 shares in the company registered in 2003 with a one million share capital. Maizube has two other Directors namely Abubakar Isah and Abubakar Aminu.
It was gathered that the leadership of the House of Representatives is desperately pushing for the implementation of the committee report and has allegedly sent copies of the report to the presidency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC], Police and State Security Services [SSS]..
However, it was further gathered that the President is under pressure from his advisers to relieve the Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah of her appointment in order to protect the integrity of his administration.
Sources disclosed that Jonathan is worried by the involvement of the minister and influential Nigerians in the Oil subsidy scandals, which according to the sources had brought panic to the President’s mind on how to dismiss the Minister.
The sources added that the indicted Head of State is buzzing all contracts to forestall the implementation of the oil subsidy report; the powerful Nigerians have allegedly reached out to the Presidency pleading that the action be withheld on the committee’s report on the basis that the committee was vindictive and not thorough in its investigation.
Abubakar have also allegedly reached out to friends in the House of Representatives and those from his state and the six geopolitical zones to block the committee’s report at publicizing the report until they find away to obviate their purported indictment.
