Nigerian Legislators Highest Paid In The World — Economist Magazine

Nigerian Legislators Highest Paid In The World — Economist Magazine

A report by The Economist magazine has revealed that Nigerian federal legislators with a basic salary of $189,500 per annum (N30.6m) are the highest paid lawmakers in the world.

Quoting data from the International Monetary Fund and The Economist magazine of London, the study looked at the lawmakers’ basic salary as a ratio of the Gross Domestic Product per person across countries of the world.

According to the report, the basic salary (which excludes allowances) of a Nigerian lawmaker is 116 times the country’s GDP per person of $1,600. The $189,500 earned annually by each Nigerian legislator is estimated to be 52 per cent higher than what Kenyan legislators, who are the second highest paid lawmakers, earned.

The National Assembly has, however, rejected the report that its members are the highest paid lawmakers in the world. While reacting to the report, the spokespersons of the two chambers of the National Assembly described it as grossly exaggerated.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the report was misleading and incorrect. He said it was easy for anyone to verify what Nigerian lawmakers earned given that such information could be obtained from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

Abaribe said, “My reaction is that the report is incorrect. It is very easy for anybody to know what we earn by going to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.”