Nigeria is to lose a whopping N2.8bn to settle the severance package for members of the seventh National Assembly, who would not be returning to their seats after May this year. This amount does not include what is to be paid to the lawmakers’ political aides who will also be exiting service with their principals.
Severance package or gratuity, which is the amount paid to lawmakers after their successful four-year tenure in office, also covers their political aides. For presiding members of the both chambers, their number of aides can be as high as 20 per officer.
Findings by National Mirror from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, Abuja, showed that each senator, with annual basic salaries of N2,026,400.00, is entitled to a severance package of N6,079,200.00 (i.e. 300 per cent of the basic salary).
So, while the severance package of each of the 107 senators is N6, 079, 200.00, that of the Senate President, with an annual basic salary of N2, 484, 242.50, is N7, 452, 727.50 while that of the Deputy Senate President, with an annual basic salary of N2, 309,166.75, is N6, 927, 500.25.
Consequently, the total severance package for the Senate amounts to N664, 854, 627.
It was gathered that the severance gratuity, which is one of the financial packages approved by the RMAFC for the lawmakers, was arrived at by calculating 300 per cent of the lawmakers’ annual basic salaries. This formula formed part of the current remuneration package for political, public and judicial office holders designed by RMAFC in June 2007.
In the case of the House of Representatives, the annual basic salary of the Speaker is N2, 477, 110 which brings his severance package to N7, 431, 330.00, while the severance package of the Deputy Speaker, with an annual basic salary of N2, 287, 034.55 goes for N6, 861,102.75.
For the remaining 358 members of the lower chamber, each of their annual basic salary is N1, 985, 212.50, translating to those of them who would not return getting N5, 955, 637.00 as severance package.
It was gathered that while the severance packages of the lawmakers will be paid directly from the consolidated revenue account of the federation, those of their aides will be drawn from the purse of the National Assembly. But the newspaper was unable to obtain information pertaining to the amount due to political aides of the lawmakers.
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