If this really is a vanguard article, then it is the most disgraceful form of irresponsible reporting. In addition to impartial reporting I should think the truthfulness (fact checking) of an article should be of utmost importance to a newspaper especially in this age of "googling".

Anyways, just a few salient points (I am using the U.S. congress as a yardstick);

1. As of 2015, the base salary for all rank-and-file members of the U.S. House and Senate is $174,000 per year, plus benefits. Salaries have not been increased since 2009. Compared to private-sector salaries, the salaries of members of Congress is lower than many mid-level executives and managers.

2. Members of Congress are eligible to receive the same annual cost-of-living increase given to other federal employees, if any. The raise takes effect automatically on January 1 of each year unless Congress, through passage of a joint resolution, votes to decline it, as Congress has done since 2009.

3. Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the sampe plans available to other federal employees. They become vested after five years of full participation.

4. Outside Income

Many members of Congress retain their private careers and other business interests while they serve. Members are allowed to retain an amount of permissible "outside earned income" limited to no more than 15% of the annual rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Schedule for federal employees, or $26,550 a year in 2013. However, there is currently no limit on the amount of non-salary income members can retain from their investments, corporate dividends or profits.

House and Senate rules define what sources of "outside earned income" are permissible. For example, House Rule XXV (112th Congress) limits permissible outside income to "salaries, fees, and other amounts received or to be received as compensation for personal services actually rendered." Members are not allowed to retain compensation arising from fiduciary relationships, except for medical practices. Members are also barred from accepting honoraria - payments for professional services typically provided without charge.

Perhaps most importantly to voters and taxpayers, member of Congress are strictly prohibited from earning or accepting income that may appear to be intended to influence the way they vote on legislation.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

The special audit conducted on the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has revealed that N183.7 billion could not be accounted for between 2008 and 2012.

The Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr Samuel Ukura, spoke with reporters yesterday after submitting three report to the National Assembly.

Ukura added that his office submitted the environmental audit on the drying up of Lake Chad and special periodic checks on the activities and programmes of the NDDC.

He said a lot of discrepancies were noticed in the NDDC accounts with about N183.7 billion expected to be refunded to the federation account.

A breakdown of what the NDDC will return to the Federation Account, Ukura said, includes the N70.4 billion unaccounted for from the mobilisation of various contractors that never reported to site; the N5.8 billion paid to contractors for projects not executed or abandoned; N90.5 billion spent on extra budgetary expenditure without approval by legal authorities; N1.2 billion undeducted taxes from contractors; N10.07 billion to be refunded as tax deductions made without evidence of remittance to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); N3.1 billion transferred to unauthorised accounts and unaccountable staff advances of N1.7 billion.

Ukura said: “It is our belief that all the money spent by government, if it was properly spent in the region, Niger Delta would be a better place.”

He added that N785 million of N1.1 billion allegedly paid to contracts for the supply of furniture to various schools in Delta State was also unaccounted for.

The Auditor-General noted that additional details of their findings are contained in the report he submitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Salisu Maikasuwa.

http://thenationonlineng.net/nddc-cant-account-for-n183b/

And his Maths is somehow not good enough to know that even if each legislator has 250 aides/staff the whole of the National Assembly will represent just 0.073% of the population. SMH