NIGERIAN LEGISLATURES EARN TOO MUCH

While Nigeria continues to suffer from unpaid salaries it is time to remember the salaries and allowances of the National Assembly members and ministers which was published by The Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

Publication in Daily Trust August 2013 edition said it was announced  to avoid misinformation and misrepresentation of facts in media reports.
According to the RMAFC estimates, lawmakers’ allowances include accommodation (Senator N4m, Rep N3.97m), vehicle loan (Senator N8m, Rep N7.94m), furniture (Senator N6m, Rep N5.956m) and severance gratuity (Senator N6.09m, Rep N5.956m), which are due once in four years. It should be noted that accommodation allowance is paid yearly while furniture, severance and car loan are paid once in four years, the commission said.
Annual allowances are motor vehicle fueling and maintenance (Senator N1.52m, Rep N1.489m), constituency (Senator N5m, Rep N1.985m), domestic staff (Senator N1.519m, Rep N1.488m), personal assistant (Senator N506,600; Rep N496,303), entertainment (Senator N607,920, Rep N595,563), recess (Senator N202,640; Rep N198,521), utilities (Senator N607,920; Rep N397,042), newspaper/periodicals (Senator N303,960; Rep N297,781), house maintenance (Senator N101,320; Rep N99,260) and wardrobe (Senator N506,600; Rep N496,303).
Other allowances are estacode (Senator $950, Rep $900) and duty tour allowance (Senator N37,000; Rep N35,000).

RMAFC said: “Regular allowances are paid regularly with basic salaries while non-regular allowances are paid as at when due. For instance, furniture allowance andeverance gratuity are paid once in every tenure and vehicle allowance which is optional is a loan which the beneficiary has to pay before the end of tenure. It is therefore wrong and misleading to add up allowances irrespective of whether they are regular, refundable or non-regular as the regular annual emoluments of political public office holders.” 
However, RMAFC warned that any other allowances received by the affected officials are illegal and the chief accounting officer should be held responsible. According to RMAFC : “The commission also wishes to use this opportunity to state that any other allowance(s) enjoyed by any political, public office holders outside those provided in the Remuneration Act of 2008 is not known to the commission and the chief accounting officer should be held accountable”. 
The source also notes that with a national minimum wage of N18,000.00 per month and totalling N216,000.00 per annum, it will take the average Nigerian worker, 60 years and 44 years to earn the annual salary and allowances of a Nigerian Senator and Member of the House of Representatives respectively.  It states: “This cannot be right and something urgent has to be done to slash the salaries and allowances of the members of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly”.

EXECUTIVE LOOTING IN NIGERIA

There has been an ongoing national argument on the reality of the oil subsidy which some eminent Nigerians have refuted against. Former petroleum minister Prof Tam David West breaks down his analysis of the falsehood behind the fuel subsidy that has only enriched a few rich and selfish individuals in Nigeria. See insightful details.
1) One barrel of Crude oil = 42 gallons or 159 litres
2) Our Refineries (i.e 4) Installed (combined)
capacity = 445,000 barrels per day

3) Actual refineries capacity due to ageing
equipment = 30% i.e. 133,500 barrels per day.
4) 133,500 barrels = 21.2 million litres
5) Local required consumption (F.O.S) =
12millions litres
6) It means that even our MORIBOND refineries can actually meet our local consumption need of petroleum.
7) The cost structure of crude oil (i.e. Qua Iboe Crude Oil) production; – Findings / development – $3.5
– Production cost – $1.5
– Refining Cost – $12.6
– Pipeline/transportation – $1.5
– Distr/bridging fund Margin -$15.69
True cost of one litre of petroleum anywhere in Nigeria;
– Total sum cost = $34.8
– 1ltr cost = $34.8/159 litres = $0.219
– Naira equiv. 0.219xN160= N35.02k
– Add Tax N5 + N35.02 = N40.02
9) Let FGN refute the above composition and if not, they should tell us how they came about
N95/N85 litre.
10) Locally refined products cannot be sold at International price.
11) We really do not need FGN SUBSIDY as
there was NONE in the first place.
12) What is LACKING, is the WILL to enforce
LAW ON CORRUPTION.

 Professor Tam David West, former
  Petroleum Minister.

CHIEF TONY ANENIH RESIGNS

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reached a new dimension as reports just reaching us inform that Tony Anenih, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party, has resigned.

The PDP National Working Committee (NWC) disclosed this information.
In accepting the resignation, the committee acknowledged the immense contributions of Anenih in the PDP over the years particularly in his capacity as the BoT Chairman.
The party said: “As one of the founding fathers of the PDP, the NWC appreciates Chief Anenih’s guiding role in the party in the last 16 years and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Chief Anenih

The PDP commended the situation in a statement by Wale Oladipo, its national secretary. It also said: “Consequent upon the resignation, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin holds forth pending the election of a new BoT Chairman”.

According to the statement, Anenih resigned “on personal grounds”.
Meanwhile, media outfits quoted Anenih as saying that he decided to resign because of “the current state of affairs within the party.”

He said this in a letter he signed and submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan.
The letter titled ‘Notice of my decision to step down as Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party’, is dated May 20, 2015 and addressed to Jonathan.
Anenih became PDP BoT chairman few weeks to the end of tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007.
After suffering huge defeat at the last general elections, the PDP, which was ruled Nigeria for 16 years, has been hit by a wave of defection and resignation.
READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/442895-pdp-bot-chairman-resigns-on-personal-grounds.html