Reps refuse to disclose how much they take home

Lawmakers of the house of representatives have declined requests by TheCable to disclose their salaries and running cost.

Most members of the house of representatives expressed fury when this newspaper contacted them over the issue.

Recently, Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna central, disclosed that apart from the basic monthly salary of N750,000, each senator gets N13.5 million as “running cost”.

Sabi Abdullahi, spokesman of the senate later confirmed his claim, adding that “almost all holders of elective and appointive offices have running costs allocated to their offices and that cannot be said to be part of their salaries”.

Abdulrazak Namdas, spokesman of the lower legislative chamber, refused to clarify what his counterpart at the senate said.

“Democracy is not only about lawmakers… why should I disclose what I earn as a lawmaker,” Namdas told TheCable.