Abuja, Nigeria — Former Senator Ishaku Abbo, who once represented the Adamawa North Senatorial District, has sparked debate with his recent comments on the earnings of Nigerian senators. Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Sunday, Abbo claimed that the monthly earnings of senators, despite appearing substantial on paper, are insufficient to meet the extensive demands and challenges of their office.

Abbo disclosed that during his tenure in the Senate, his salary and allowances totaled N14.4 million per month. He noted that while the current earnings for senators have nearly doubled to N29 million monthly, the figure remains deceptive.

“When I was in the Senate, cumulatively, all the allowances were N14.4 million per month. You have a wardrobe allowance, a vehicle allowance, and other allowances put together that were N14.4 million, including the N1 million salary,” Abbo stated. “It is about N29 million now. N29 million looks big on paper. I’m saying this as an honest man. I’m not trying to support the National Assembly, and I’ve been a member of that vilified institution for five years. I am not standing with them, but I’ll bear the facts on the table.”

The former senator further revealed that he became financially strained after leaving his business to serve in the Senate, describing how he had to subsidize his life due to the financial pressures from his constituents.

“I had to leave the company I founded, in which I was the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, to go into governance when I won the election,” Abbo explained. “I had to start subsidizing my life because the money allocated to my office was absolutely nothing considering the demand and challenges faced by my own constituents on a daily basis.”

Abbo shared a particularly costly experience, stating that he once spent N14 million of his earnings on a single individual’s hospital treatment. He also highlighted the overwhelming number of requests for assistance he received from people across Adamawa State and beyond.

“I had to start calling some state governors to help me with cases that are being brought from their states into my office,” he added.

Drawing a stark comparison, Abbo alleged that some state governors receive up to N1 billion monthly for state responsibilities, far exceeding the resources available to senators.

“From N14 million, I was paying for people’s scholarships, subsidizing people’s expenses while a state governor in this country is going home with over N700 million security vote every month, some go home with N1 billion to do other security issues,” Abbo claimed. “I am poorer, much poorer as a man when I became a politician than I was before I became a politician.”

The debate over the remuneration of Nigerian lawmakers has long been a contentious issue. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently criticized the federal lawmakers for allegedly fixing their salaries and emoluments. However, the Senate has refuted these claims, and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) stated that each of the 109 senators receives a total of N1.06 million in salary and allowances per month.

Abbo’s remarks are likely to reignite discussions on the financial expectations and responsibilities of Nigerian lawmakers in relation to the public’s perception of their earnings.