Lawan also said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has surpassed his predecessors on assent to bills.
He stated this in a paper presented at the First Distinguished Parliamentarians Lecture Series organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies.The President of the Senate said the monthly Salary of a Senator was N1.5 million while that of a member of the House of Representatives was N1.3 million.
He said the N13 million thrown into the public space a few years back as the monthly salary of a senator was actually their quarterly office-running allowance.
Lawan said, “The total salary of a member of the Senate is about N1.5m while that of the House of Representatives is about N1.3m.
“The quarterly office allowance for legislators is what is erroneously conflicted with a monthly income to create confusion and mislead Nigerians.
“The average office running cost for a senator is about N13m while that of a member of the House of Representatives is N8m.”
When calculated by our correspondent, the N13m office running cost for a senator amounts to N52m per annum while the N8m for a member of the House of Representatives amounts to N32m in a year.
Lawan’s lecture was titled, ‘The Legislature, Legislative Mandate and People – The Reality and the Public Perception.’
He said the N13m and the N8m quarterly office-running cost for a member of the Senate and House of Representatives respectively, were the lowest of any presidential democracy in the world.
The allowances as enumerated by him, cover costs of local/international travel, consulting of professional services, medical services, office stationeries/computers, consumables, books, newspapers, magazines, maintenance of motor vehicles and office equipment among others.