The Nigerian Senate has disbursed the sum of 218 million naira as “holiday allowance” for the Senators.

A senator who spoke under the condition of anonymity told newsmen that all the 109 senators were paid the sum of 2 million naira each, for the holidays which commenced on Monday and will end on September 26.

According to the source, the senators received the bank alerts on August 8, just before the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced it.

However, according to the law, the monies is illegal as no such provision is made in the remuneration package approved by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (the body authorized by law to prepare salaries and allowances for public servants).

The announcement by Akpabio that senators had been paid “a token” for “holiday allowance” stirred anger and outrage from Nigerians, considering the hardship many are going through due to the removal of petroleum subsidy.