Senators upset at 40% pay cut


Several senators yesterday expressed dissatisfaction with implementation of a 40 per cent cut in overheads of the National Assembly which has reduced their allowances by about a half, Daily Trust gathered.

A source told our reporter that Senate President David Mark while revealing details of allowances to senators during closed session, said they are to be paid about N11 million for housing, car monetisation and furniture allowance. This is against about N18.5 million which was paid to senators of the Sixth Senate.

The source said, “senators were disappointed to hear that they are going to get about N4 million as rent for housing. Some of them complained that to get a decent house now in Abuja cost N5 million and landlords are in the habit of asking for 2 years.”

Mark was however said to have told his colleagues that though their explanations on the pay cut were valid, “there was nothing the Senate leadership could do because government has already cut the National Assembly overhead budget by 40 percent as provided by the 2011 budget.”

The Sixth Senate suffered low public approval ratings due to high cost of maintaining the lawmakers as they were said to be spending over a quarter of the country’s overhead funds.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido had insisted that the legislature gulps over 25 percent of overhead costs provided in the budgets.

In his inaugural speech, Mark had pledged that the Senate is to spearhead resolve to cut down on cost of governance saying, “Nigerians complain that our democracy is too expensive. We, as representatives of the people, must initiate legislations that will reduce cost of governance at all levels thereby freeing resources to attend to the basic needs of the people.”

An official of the National Assembly told Daily Trust that members of the last Senate received N7.5 million as car loan, N6.5 million for furniture and N8 million as housing rents. The official however said the Finance office of the National Assembly is unaware of the new development.

Meanwhile, the Senate, which is yet to elect its other principal officers, has adjourned sitting to June 28.


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