Gbajabiamila Asks Agency to Explain Lawmakers’ Salaries, Allowances to Public

Juliet Akoje in Abuja

Speaker, House of Representatives,  Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday, called on Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to consider enlightening Nigerians on the distinction between the salary and allowances of legislators.

Gbajabiamila, who spoke in Abuja, when he received a delegation from the commission at the National Assembly, said the controversy over the pay of lawmakers and making it a public debate all the time was caused by the lumping of the salaries and allowances of lawmakers together.

According to him, allowances were tied to sundry duties or work of the office of a lawmaker like maintaining a constituency office, while the salary is the actual pay he earns as a legislator.

“You need to explain to the public the difference between salary and allowances. A lot of people lump them together and call them our take-home package. Salary is different and allowances are meant for many other issues. This explanation should be part of what you are working on right now regarding the judiciary and political office holders,” he added.

Gbajabiamila, however, assured the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) of the support of the legislature in strengthening the delivery of its core mandate of mobilising revenue for the government.

The delegation, which was led by the chairman of the commission, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Shehu, appealed to the Speaker to do all within his good office to ensure that a new constitution and other legislation that could help RMAFC perform better were concluded timely.

He further appealed for more funding for the commission through alternative sources outside the statutory allocation by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Shehu, who complained that big revenue agencies barely tolerated the commission by providing limited information on their revenue performance, urged the National Assembly to further empower RMAFC through the review of its laws, among other legislative interventions.