Nigeria is poor, governors should start earning minimum wage — Soludo

The governor of Anambra state, Charles Soludo, has stated that elected officials in Nigeria, including state governors should start earning minimum wage.

Speaking on Wednesday at a special edition of The Platform, an event organized by The Covenant Nation to promote national development, Soludo emphasised that Nigeria is financially strained.

The event coincided with the celebration of Nigeria’s 25 years of uninterrupted democracy.

Soludo pointed out that Nigeria’s economic woes are exacerbated by the extravagant lifestyles of government officials, which are sustained at the expense of the nation’s wealth.

He proposed that these officials should be paid the minimum wage to understand the harsh realities faced by ordinary citizens, stressing that the current system is in a state of denial about the nation’s financial condition.

“Let’s come clean and straight with Nigerians. Nigeria is very poor and broke but the lifestyle of government and government officials does not show it, especially with the obscene flamboyance in public display,” Soludo said.

“The poor are hungry and impatient, let’s not annoy them more with our insensitivity.

“In this case, I agree with reverend father Mbaka, who said elected governors should also earn minimum wage. I agree that we should be paid that so that we can feel that as well.

“In Anambra, I have not received a kobo as salary since I assumed office. I have donated my salary to the state.

“It is symbolic. It is not much. I think generally, the system is in denial. There must be some signaling, it is just the symbolism of this.”

Soludo called for a new code of conduct for public officeholders to enhance fiscal prudence while performing the core duties for which they were elected.

“That is why I proposed reinventing the new code of conduct for public officers,” he said.

“For the federal government, the actual projecting revenue comes to about N6,160 per Nigerian, per month.

“For the states, except Lagos and a few states, most states have revenues amounting to less than N3,000 per resident, per month.

“It is from this shares per citizen that we are expected to provide all the infrastructure, debt service, pay salaries and pensions, build schools and provide everything.

“For each of our wasteful spending, let’s be conscious about the fact how many citizen share we are squandering. Once we lose this consciousness about the public trust we bear, the society dies irredeemably.”