“Nigerian Senators’ Earn N15 Million Monthly, Not N750,000” – Sagay Faults Lawan

The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has asked the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, to stop misleading Nigerians, adding that senators earned N15m monthly and not N750,000 as claimed by Lawan.

Ahmed Lawan had on Tuesday said there was no such thing as “jumbo pay,” adding that his monthly payment as a Nigerian senator does not exceed N750,000

Reacting to his statement while speaking to newsmen on Wednesday, Sagay said Nigerians were more interested in how much senators take home monthly in salaries and allowances.

He said Lawan was only speaking half-truth because everyone knew that the bulk of the money earned by senators was embedded in their allowances. Sagay said:

“I respect and like him (Lawan), but what he has done is to give half-truth. He is telling us the actual salary without mentioning anything about the allowances.

“That is where the jumbo pay comes in, when you talk of building, furniture, domestic this or that, 15 items and those items alone bring everything up to N13.5m a month. So, simply mentioning the bare salary, which brings it to over N14m, is not sufficient.

“So, technically, he is right. That is their salary. But what is his income, take-home pay, at the end of the month? It is about N15m and we are not including many other things we need talk about now.”

Sagay said presiding officers of the National Assembly earned more than ordinary members.