Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo has called for elected government officials in Nigeria to earn a minimum wage to better understand the struggles of workers in the country. He made this statement during a special edition of The Platform, an event organized by The Covenant Nation to facilitate national development, held in Lagos State to mark Nigeria’s 25 years of democratic governance.
Soludo emphasized that Nigeria is currently broke, but the luxurious lifestyles of elected officials do not reflect the country’s economic woes. He stated:
“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. The poor are hungry and impatient, let’s not annoy them more with our insensitivity. I agree with Reverend Father (Ejike) Mbaka, who said elected governors should also earn minimum wage. I agree that we should be paid (minimum wage) so that we can feel that as well.”
Soludo also proposed a new code of conduct for elected officials to improve fiscal prudence while performing their duties. He highlighted the disparity in revenue between the federal government and states, stating:
“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 these 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 (of) how many citizens’ shares we are squandering. Once we lose this consciousness about the public trust we bear, the society dies irredeemably.”
Soludo’s comments underscore the need for elected officials to be more empathetic with the struggles of workers and to adopt a more frugal approach to governance.
