Ondo APC Chieftain Advocates Cut In Emoluments Of Elected Officials, Political Appointees

By Ayodele Oni

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Ondo State, Olumuyiwa Adu, has said that even N50,000 for every Nigerian family as palliative will not address the current hardship.

Rather, Adu advised President Bola Tinubu to reduce the cost of governance by cutting down the earnings of political appointees, which continues to hinder the progress in the management of the country’s treasury and economy.

Adu, a former House of Representatives candidate on the ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) told journalists in Akure, that cost of governance in the country is exceptionally too high, with the benefits accruing only to a small number of elites.

He noted that since Tinubu is interested in making progress in the management of the nation’s economy, the president should be prepared to cut the cost of governance and excesses that continue to steal the development of the country.

While observing that the economic crisis rocking the nation had been worsened by the removal of the fuel subsidy, Adu said it would now be an opportunity for Tinubu to prioritize access of poor and vulnerable Nigerians to basic socio-economic rights and dividends rather than the rich.

According to him, palliative to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal, which was earlier introduced, but suspended by the president after criticisms, would not have solved the problems of many Nigerians who are suffering with the astronomical rise in the prices of essential commodities and cost of living.

“We need to sit down and think about the allocation of our wealth and resources in this country, we can never get it right. If they like, let them begin to give N50,000 to every family in this country, we can’t get out of the problem.

“We are all aware of what’s obtainable in the public service, imagine a situation where somebody that rises to the highest level of grade in the public service and has worked for over 30 years, yet he’s not earning up to N500,000.

“And you elect people to a place where they are supposed to formulate policies for the society to be good, you are paying them  N20 million in a month, we can’t get it right except we cut the cost of governance.

“So, let us bring ourselves back to basics. That money, bring it to the public to develop our resources, to cause development for our infrastructure or use it to bring about good education into the system.”

The APC chieftain pleaded with Nigerians to support the administration of President Tinubu, which he noted will grow and develop the economic base of the country with its renewed hope to the people.

He, however, explained that it is too early for Nigerians to start criticizing the government, adding that he was optimistic that President Tinubu would perform better than his processors in office.

“The government of 19 or 20 years ago, worked under different parameters that could be judged from indices and the situation in the entire world today is different from what it was then. There was no benchmark to assess the performance of any government.

“This government just came in and it has not even appointed Ministers. It is yet to even know what is obtainable in most of these ministries for him to be able to sit down and see policies we need to formulate to enable them to perform as executives.

“So, it’s too early to begin accessing the government but so far so good, from what he’s doing now is going through a sustainable way of approaching the problems of this country. Of course, it won’t come without pains.”