Senators Got N2 Million Each As Token Before Akpabio’s Gaffe – Report

A recent development involving Nigerian senators has sparked controversy, as reports reveal that each of the 109 serving senators received a vacation allowance of N2 million before embarking on a seven-week break.

The move, reportedly initiated by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has raised eyebrows due to its deviation from the approved remuneration packages.

A senator who requested not to be named because he was not authorised by the upper house to speak on the matter confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that all the 109 senators were paid the allowance for the holidays, which commenced on Monday and ends on 26 September.

A calculation done by PREMIUM TIMES showed that the senators were paid a total of N218 million, having received N2 million each to enjoy the vacation.

The bank alerts were received by the senators on 8 August, just before the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced it.

Mr Akpabio, on Monday, told the senators that some money had been credited to their accounts to enjoy their holidays.

“In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly,” he said shortly after screening and confirming the ministerial nominees.

The senate president was immediately informed by his colleagues that he was speaking on live television.

Upon realising the seriousness of his remarks, he quickly announced its withdrawal and rephrased his statement, saying that the senate president sent prayers to the mailboxes of the senators.

The N2 million allowance given to the senators is illegal as no such provision is made in the remuneration package approved by RMAFC, the body authorised by law to prepare salaries and allowances for public servants.

There is also no provision for “token” in the commission’s document, as stated by Mr Akpabio while announcing the largesse to the senators.

The lawmakers are, however, entitled to “recess” allowance under the law, which is 10 per cent of the annual basic salary of each legislator, and is paid once a year.

According to the package prepared by RMAFC, a senator earns N2,026,400 and therefore gets N202,240 as a recess allowance per annum.

The basic salary of the senate president per annum is N2,483,242, and therefore receives N248,424 as recess allowance.

On his part, the deputy senate president earns N2,309,166, and his recess allowance is N230,916.