A South West stalwart of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, (NNPP), Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi, has rejected the reported plan by the Federal Government to raise the salaries of political office holders, including the President, Vice-President, Ministers and others, saying such move is insensitive to the current plights of Nigerians due to the present economic challenges.
Ajadi said many Nigerians are groaning under unprecedented hardships due to the harsh economy, saying what is expected of the political office holders is to make sacrifices rather than line their pockets the more.
It would be recalled that the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has hinted at plans to review the salaries of political office holders in Nigeria, describing current earnings as inadequate, unrealistic, and outdated in the face of rising responsibilities and economic challenges.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, disclosed that President Bola Tinubu presently earns N1.5m monthly, while ministers receive less than N1m, figures that have remained unchanged since 2008.
To him, “You cannot pay a Minister less than N1m per month since 2008 and expect him to put in his best without necessarily being involved in some other things. You pay either a CBN governor or the DG ten times more than you pay the President.
That is just not right. Or you pay him [the head of an agency] twenty times higher than the Attorney-General of the Federation. That is absolutely not right”.
However, Ajadi, in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan on Wednesday, said at a time when reforms demand sacrifice, this proposal smacks of greed, tone-deafness and moral bankruptcy.
“A progressive government in moments of economic crisis like Nigeria is currently going through, will reduce the cost of governance rather than inflate it”.
According to him, it is insensitive to increase political office holders’ salaries while workers have been struggling for a living wage without an appropriate response from the governments.
“The current Workers’ minimum wage is not enough to provide the means of livelihood for any worker. The inflation is biting harder on Nigerians. Contrary to the poor conditions of Nigerians, political office holders are flashing their riches and displaying their wealth openly with utter disregard for the conditions of ordinary citizens. To now increase the salaries of these political office holders will not augur well for our country.
“In countries where the economy is bad, what is obtained is for the political office holders to reduce their earnings as a sacrifice. It is with this that they will have the moral right to preach to ordinary citizens to make a sacrifice. In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her cabinet reduced their pay by 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During the 2008 financial crisis, Ireland slashed ministerial and parliamentary salaries by as much as 30%. In the midst of Greece’s sovereign debt crisis, ministers and Members of Parliament took salary cuts in solidarity with citizens.
“True leaders tighten their belts first before asking citizens to bear the burden of reform. For Nigeria’s political class to even consider “jumbo salaries” at a time of rising inflation, subsidy removal, unemployment, and worsening poverty is unconscionable.
“RMAFC must immediately drop this self-serving scheme. What the nation requires today is fiscal discipline, leadership by sacrifice, not political overlords fattening themselves while citizens starve”, Ajayi cautioned.
