Abuja-based lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has strongly criticised the proposed salary increase for President Bola Tinubu, state governors, federal lawmakers, and other political office holders, describing it as a clear display of greed and insensitivity to the plight of ordinary Nigerians.
Olajengbesi, Managing Partner of the Abuja law firm Law Corridor, said in a statement on Thursday that the move exposes the selfishness of the political elite while millions of citizens struggle daily with hunger and economic hardship.
He noted that Nigerians have been battling rising poverty following the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange windows, yet the government is prioritising pay rises for politicians who already earn far more than the average worker.
“The decision by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to review upward the salaries of political office holders is an affront to suffering Nigerians who can barely feed once a day. It is disrespectful to middle-class families whose meal patterns have dropped from three meals daily to barely one,” Olajengbesi said.
The lawyer contrasted the proposed pay hike with the plight of workers still earning the national minimum wage of ₦70,000, while lawmakers receive what he called “jumbo packages.”
He cited past revelations to back his claim, including Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s disclosure in 2024 that lawmakers take home about ₦14 million monthly, and former Kaduna lawmaker Shehu Sani’s statement that senators currently earn as much as ₦21 million monthly. Former Speaker Yakubu Dogara also admitted receiving ₦25 million monthly while in office.
Olajengbesi further recalled Borno Senator Ali Ndume’s revelation that each senator gets over ₦200 million annually for constituency projects, with Senator Agom Jarigbe disclosing that some ranking senators received allocations of up to ₦500 million in the 2024 budget.
He described it as “unjustifiable” for the RMAFC to even consider increasing the pay of politicians who already benefit from massive allowances, constituency funds, and other hidden perks.
The lawyer urged Nigerian leaders to learn from Liberia’s President, Joseph Boakai, who slashed his own salary by 40 percent to demonstrate empathy and solidarity with his citizens.
“If Nigerian political office holders still have any sense of honour, they should reject this proposal outright. Leadership should be about sacrifice, not gluttony,” he said.
