Sagay is “a senile, jaded, outdated Professor of Law” – Senate

The Senate has issued a
stern public warning to Chairman of the Presidential Advisory
Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay,
urging President Muhammadu Buhari to call him to
order.

The Senate made the stinging
criticism of the chairman in a press statement signed by the
Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public
Affairs, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, on Thursday,
September 7, 2017.

The statement accused Prof. Sagay
of spreading falsehood about the Senate in public, and damaging the
integrity of the federal legislature.

Abdullahi also made a note of Prof.
Sagay’s divisive nature and fondness for pitting members of the
executive arm of government against one another.

He said, “Ordinarily, we
would ignore Sagay whose statements and attitude present him like a
rascal and sadist instead of a former university teacher.

“However, his last speech in
Lagos during which he was reeling out false and exaggerated figures
about the salaries nod allowances of legislators and also lied
about the passage of anti-corruption bills showed that he just
deliberately set out to undermine the legislative institution and
lower its reputation in the estimation of right thinking members of
the society and we therefore believe we should put him in his
rightful place.

“As an academic whose creed
should be to find facts and make comments based on truth, we
believe that Sagay should stop spreading beer parlour rumours about
the salaries and allowances of legislators when he could simply get
the facts from the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation
Commission (RMFAC) which is the body constitutionally charged with
the responsibility of fixing salaries and allowances of all public
officials.

“Let us make it clear that our
salaries and allowances are open books and the details can be taken
from the RMFAC by any interested party.

“Prof. Sagay at his lecture in
Lagos also made comparisons which did little credit to his
background as a lecturer as he was talking of the salary of the
United States President and that of a Nigerian legislator. That is
like comparing oranges with apples.

“Only a senile, jaded, rustic
and outdated Professor of Law like Sagay will make such a
comparison which falls flat on its face, even to an ordinary lay
man. Surely, Sagay is basing his analysis on street
talks.”

This is a response to Prof. Sagay’s
recent criticism of the legislature where he accused them of
collecting exorbitant allowances.

While delivering a lecture at
the Nigerian Society of International Law
(NSIL) Public Lecture
in Lagos on Tuesday, September 5, he
revealed that every Nigerian Senator earns N29.5 million per month
and N3.2 billion per annum.

He also accused the Senate of being
selfish to the nation’s needs and resisting President Buhari’s war
on corruption as a result.

He said, “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. The
Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, the Proceeds of Crime Bill, and
the Special Criminal Court Bill remain in a virtual state of
stagnation.”

“What evidence do we need to
establish the hostility of the Eighth Assembly to the
anti-corruption war?”

In the robust response issued by
the Senate, Abdullahi hit out at Prof. Sagay for the falsehood that
his statement represents, while highlighting the Senate’s efforts
on helping the administration’s corruption war.

He said, “Sagay could not
even check the records before proclaiming that the National
Assembly has not passed a single bill for the promotion of
anti-corruption war since it commenced business in July
2015′.

“It is on record that the
Senate has passed the Whistle Blowers’ Protection Bill, Witness
Protection Bill, Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill
and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency Bill.

“This man talks like a man who
is constantly under the influence of some substance and perhaps
possessed as he employs the language of a tout with no civility. He
is probably constantly excited and incensed by the fact of having
his first opportunity to find himself in the corridors of
power.”

Abdullahi went on to blame the
losses of the government’s anti-corruption court cases on Prof.
Sagay, saying that he needs to do more work and stop creating
further needless tension in the relationship between the executive
and the legislature.

The Senate has issued a
stern public warning to Chairman of the Presidential Advisory
Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay,
urging President Muhammadu Buhari to call him to
order.

The Senate made the stinging
criticism of the chairman in a press statement signed by the
Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public
Affairs, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, on Thursday,
September 7, 2017.

The statement accused Prof. Sagay
of spreading falsehood about the Senate in public, and damaging the
integrity of the federal legislature.

Abdullahi also made a note of Prof.
Sagay’s divisive nature and fondness for pitting members of the
executive arm of government against one another.

He said, “Ordinarily, we
would ignore Sagay whose statements and attitude present him like a
rascal and sadist instead of a former university teacher.

“However, his last speech in
Lagos during which he was reeling out false and exaggerated figures
about the salaries nod allowances of legislators and also lied
about the passage of anti-corruption bills showed that he just
deliberately set out to undermine the legislative institution and
lower its reputation in the estimation of right thinking members of
the society and we therefore believe we should put him in his
rightful place.

“As an academic whose creed
should be to find facts and make comments based on truth, we
believe that Sagay should stop spreading beer parlour rumours about
the salaries and allowances of legislators when he could simply get
the facts from the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation
Commission (RMFAC) which is the body constitutionally charged with
the responsibility of fixing salaries and allowances of all public
officials.

“Let us make it clear that our
salaries and allowances are open books and the details can be taken
from the RMFAC by any interested party.

“Prof. Sagay at his lecture in
Lagos also made comparisons which did little credit to his
background as a lecturer as he was talking of the salary of the
United States President and that of a Nigerian legislator. That is
like comparing oranges with apples.

“Only a senile, jaded, rustic
and outdated Professor of Law like Sagay will make such a
comparison which falls flat on its face, even to an ordinary lay
man. Surely, Sagay is basing his analysis on street
talks.”

This is a response to Prof. Sagay’s
recent criticism of the legislature where he accused them of
collecting exorbitant allowances.

While delivering a lecture at
the Nigerian Society of International Law
(NSIL) Public Lecture
in Lagos on Tuesday, September 5, he
revealed that every Nigerian Senator earns N29.5 million per month
and N3.2 billion per annum.

He also accused the Senate of being
selfish to the nation’s needs and resisting President Buhari’s war
on corruption as a result.

He said, “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. The
Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, the Proceeds of Crime Bill, and
the Special Criminal Court Bill remain in a virtual state of
stagnation.”

“What evidence do we need to
establish the hostility of the Eighth Assembly to the
anti-corruption war?”

In the robust response issued by
the Senate, Abdullahi hit out at Prof. Sagay for the falsehood that
his statement represents, while highlighting the Senate’s efforts
on helping the administration’s corruption war.

He said, “Sagay could not
even check the records before proclaiming that the National
Assembly has not passed a single bill for the promotion of
anti-corruption war since it commenced business in July
2015′.

“It is on record that the
Senate has passed the Whistle Blowers’ Protection Bill, Witness
Protection Bill, Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill
and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency Bill.

“This man talks like a man who
is constantly under the influence of some substance and perhaps
possessed as he employs the language of a tout with no civility. He
is probably constantly excited and incensed by the fact of having
his first opportunity to find himself in the corridors of
power.”

Abdullahi went on to blame the
losses of the government’s anti-corruption court cases on Prof.
Sagay, saying that he needs to do more work and stop creating
further needless tension in the relationship between the executive
and the legislature.