Olajengbesi slams proposed pay rise for politicians, calls it insensitive
Pelumi Olajengbesi, Abuja-based lawyer, has condemned the plan to increase the salaries of the president, governors, federal lawmakers and other political office holders in Nigeria, describing it as insensitive and selfish.
In a statement on Thursday, Olajengbesi, who is the managing partner of Abuja-based law firm, Law Corridor, said the proposal by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) was an affront to the suffering of Nigerians grappling with the effects of economic reforms.
“The ruling class has again shamelessly demonstrated its self-centredness, greed and unfeeling attitude against the Nigerian masses who have continued to groan ceaselessly due to the unprecedented economic hardship that followed the government’s removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange windows,” he said.
He described the proposed increment as “an affront to the suffering of the Nigerian masses who have endured starvation and intense economic pressure since the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023.”
According to him, the move is also “a disrespect to middle-class Nigerians whose eating formula has changed from three meals per day to 0-1-0. It is insulting to the average Nigerian worker who earns N70,000 minimum wage, yet Senators and House of Representatives members who earn jumbo pay monthly are considered for a pay rise.”
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Olajengbesi referenced disclosures by lawmakers in recent years, including Orji Kalu who revealed in 2024 that he earned N14 million monthly, and SlShehu Sani, who said lawmakers now earn about N21 million monthly. He also cited former Speaker Yakubu Dogara’s claim of receiving N25 million monthly as head of the House of Representatives.
He added that “Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, also last year, revealed that aside from millions received as monthly salary and allowances, each senator gets over N200m as constituency projects annually. Cross River North Senator, Agom Jarigbe, corroborated Ndume’s disclosure, saying some ranking senators received N500 million projects allocated for each of them in the 2024 budget.”
The lawyer said it was “utterly unthinkable that the RMAFC would consider increasing the salaries and allowances of this set of political office holders who rake in hundreds of millions and even billions yearly from legitimate and otherwise sources.”
Olajengbesi urged political office holders to emulate Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai, who recently slashed his salary by 40 percent to demonstrate empathy for his citizens.
“Nigerian political office holders should reject the proposed pay rise if they have any modicum of honour left in them. They have lessons to learn from Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai, who slashed his salary by 40% to show leadership and empathy for the people,” he said.
