The lawmaker representing Abia North in the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has disclosed that he earns a total of N14 million every month as a Senator.
The Senator, who was a guest on Channels Televisionโs Politics Today on Thursday, dismissed the belief among some Nigerians that lawmakers are living in affluence while the masses live in poverty.
โI earn N14 million for everything in a month. That is everything encompassing, the overhead, the workerโs salary, everybody,โ Uzor-Kalu said.
Uzor Kalu, who is a former governor of Abia State, argued that the N14 million is not enough to buy petrol to travel to his constituency, maintain the constituency office among other things.
One of the most controversial issues that have always been raised against the national assembly is the luxury cars given to lawmakers as their official vehicles.
However, Senator Uzor Kalu denied that lawmakers are given official personal vehicles, saying that the only the various committees in the national assembly that are given vehicles.
โI am in the Senate and a lot of things are said about the Senators and I sit there quietly and watch, and most of these things are not true. All I know is that committees get vehicles, no lawmaker is given any vehicle,โ the Senator said.
On the economic hardship in Nigeria, Senator Uzor Kalu said it is not peculiar to Nigeria as the impact of COVID-19 is still affecting economies globally. He said the only reason some countries are no longer feeling the COVID-19 impact the way Nigeria is feeling it is because they have built a robust economy for a very long period.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu is aware of the countryโs unstable economy and is taking steps to address the challenges facing Nigeria.
โThe president himself knows that Nigerians are suffering and hungry. He is a street person; he knows the street very well.
โThe president some nights uses his car to go around and know what is happening in Abuja here,โ he said.
