The members of the 9th National Assembly, numbering 469 from both legislative chambers, are to receive N4.68bn as welcome package upon their inauguration in June.
Herald Nigeria gathered that the package is to help the lawmakers cater to their accommodation and furniture needs.
The nation’s Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) stipulates that accommodation and furniture allowances are some of the irregular entitlements of lawmakers and other political office holders.
While accommodation is paid once every year, furniture allowance is paid once in four years.
This implies that each member of the House of Representatives on resumption is entitled to N9.926, 062.5, according to the prescription of the RMAFC in its Remuneration Package for Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders 2007 to Date.
This includes the furniture allowance of N5,955,637.5 and accommodation allowance of N3, 970,425 which each House of Representatives member is entitled to.
It also means that, by implication, the 360 lawmakers that will make up the House of Representatives will get a total of N3.57bn as accommodation and furniture allowances.
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Similarly, each senator is entitled to a combined furniture and accommodation allowance of N10,132,000 on assumption of office. While the accommodation allowance of a senator is N4,052,800, the furniture allowance is N6,079,200.
The 109 senators that will make up the 9th National Assembly will receive a total of N1.1bn when the red chamber opens in June altogether.
The allowance is different from allowances for motor vehicles, vehicle maintenance and fuelling, medical expenses and tour duty allowance, which each lawmaker is entitled to intermittently during their tenure.