Former Senator Elisha Abbo, who represented Adamawa North in the National Assembly, has claimed that the monthly earnings of Nigerian senators are insufficient to meet the demands of their office, despite widespread public condemnation of lawmakers’ remuneration.
Abbo, who served from 2019 to 2023, made this assertion during an interview on Arise Television, where he reflected on his time in the Senate.
Abbo disclosed that during his tenure, his salary and allowances amounted to N14.4 million per month, a figure that has reportedly increased to N29 million for current senators.
He emphasized that while these figures might seem substantial on paper, they do not reflect the financial realities and pressures faced by lawmakers, especially those representing large and economically disadvantaged constituencies.
“When I was in the Senate, cumulatively, all the allowances were N14.4 million per month. You have a wardrobe allowance, a vehicle allowance, and other allowances put together that were N14.4 million, including the N1 million salary,” Abbo explained.
“It is about N29 million now. N29 million looks big on paper.”
The former lawmaker argued that his comments were not intended to defend the National Assembly but to provide an honest account of the financial strain associated with the role.
He stressed that despite his efforts to manage his finances, he ended up poorer after leaving his business to serve as a senator.
Abbo shared that prior to his political career, he was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of a company he founded.
However, upon winning his Senate seat, he had to step away from his business to focus on governance.
The financial burden of his senatorial duties, coupled with the constant demands for assistance from his constituents, quickly eroded his personal wealth.
“I had to leave the company I founded, in which I was the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, to go into governance when I won the election,” Abbo said.
“I had to start subsiding my life because the money that was allocated to my office was absolutely nothing considering the demand and challenges faced by my own constituents on a daily basis.”
Highlighting the pressures of his office, Abbo recounted a particular instance where he spent N14 million of his personal funds on medical expenses for a single constituent.
He lamented that such financial obligations were frequent, with people from across Adamawa State and beyond regularly seeking his help.
“And every month, from all over Adamawa State and other states, my office was besieged with people looking for help,” Abbo added.
“I had to start calling some state governors to help me with cases that are being brought from their states into my office.”
Abbo’s remarks come amid ongoing debates about the remuneration of Nigerian lawmakers, which many critics argue is exorbitant in a country where a significant portion of the population lives in poverty.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently described the practice of lawmakers setting their own salaries and allowances as “immoral,” insisting that such matters should be determined by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
“You are not supposed to fix your salaries or allowances; it is supposed to be done by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC),” Obasanjo stated.
“With all due respect, you know it’s not right; it is not right for me to be the one to determine what I pay myself; it is immoral, and you are doing it; the Senate is doing it.”
The Senate, however, has dismissed Obasanjo’s claims as unfounded, maintaining that the process of determining their remuneration is transparent and in line with existing regulations.
The RMAFC also clarified that each of the 109 senators in the upper chamber receives a total of N1.06 million in salary and allowances per month.
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