Sagay Replies Senate, ‘You Earn More Than US President Yet Can’t Pass A Single Anti-Corruption Bill’

Professor Itse Sagay, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption, PACAC, has criticized the Nigerian Senate for the huge sum of money they receive and are still unable to perform their duties.

Sagay was reacting to a statement credited to the Senate Spokesperson, Aliyu Sabi Abdullah, who on Thursday lampooned the Senior Advocate of Nigeria for being power drunk.

The PACAC boss advised the lawmakers to learn how to take criticisms in good faith, as he would not stop criticizing them for the huge sums they receive, which he believes affects the country’s economy.

He said from the N125 billion allocated to the lawmakers in the 2017 Budget, each one of them will take home about N3.2 billion ($1.7 million) annually while the United States President earns $400,000 per annum.

Giving a breakdown of what the lawmakers earn, Sagay said besides a basic salary of N2.4 million per month, they earn allowances such as hardship (50 percent of basic salary), newspaper allowance (50 percent), wardrobe allowance (25 percent), entertainment (30 percent), recess (10 percent), and leave (10 percent), among others.

According to him, each lawmaker’s total monthly pay amounts to N29.5 million.

His said: “I criticize them for the huge amount of money they are taking out of the country.

“They are creating a situation in which Nigeria does not have enough funds; we have kidnapping, there is Boko Haram, we have militants, armed robbery and so on.

“That is basically what I said. I spoke the truth. They have wardrobe allowance, in other words, we are the ones buying clothes for them to wear.

“When they arrived Abuja, were they naked? What is their problem?

“Perhaps the most notorious example of the legislators’ resistance to the war against corruption is the rejection of the right of the executive to choose the persons who will spearhead that struggle.

“The clear impression is created that Nigerian legislators are in office for themselves and not for the populace.

“Not surprisingly, the National Assembly has not passed a single bill for the promotion of anti-corruption war since it commenced business in July 2015.”