What I Saw as My Salary Was 750,000Naira,But You will See Some Spending 100million at Once-Sen Ndume
Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has lamented Nigeria’s deepening culture of corruption, warning that unexplained and ostentatious displays of wealth have become normalized in the country.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Monday, September 29 2025, Ndume disclosed that his official monthly salary as a senator stood at just ₦750,000, yet many public officials are able to lavish hundreds of millions of naira in a single outing without scrutiny.
“What I saw as my salary last month was ₦750,000,” Ndume said. “But you will see somebody spending ₦100 million at once, and people will not question the source of such money. Instead, they are celebrated in churches, mosques, and society at large.”
The lawmaker expressed dismay that Nigerians continue to glorify questionable wealth while neglecting accountability. He argued that corruption has been “legitimized” in public life, with politicians and businessmen flaunting ill-gotten riches and being honored rather than investigated.
Ndume called for the adoption of tougher anti-corruption mechanisms, including a law on unexplained wealth orders, similar to measures in the United Kingdom and United States. Such laws, he said, would allow authorities to confiscate assets that cannot be traced to legitimate earnings until ownership is proven.
“Unexplained wealth is celebrated in Nigeria,” he noted. “In other countries, people with questionable riches are scrutinized, even jailed. Here, they are given front seats in places of worship.”
Ndume’s comments come amid rising public anger over inflation, and widening inequality. His frank disclosure of lawmakers’ salaries contrasted with the lavish lifestyles often associated with political office holders, is likely to stir further debate about accountability, transparency, and the entrenched culture of patronage in Nigerian politics.
