By Citizenship Newspaper
The Labour Party (LP) has condemned in strongest terms the recent proposal by the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr. Mohammed Shehu, to increase the salary of Nigerian politicians.
Mr. Shehu had at a press conference caused a stir by suggesting that the President receives ‘a paltry N18 million’ for his office in an entire year as salary, which in his calculations amounts to N1.5million per month, while his ministers receive N1 million per month, which is N12 million per annum.
But in a statement on Friday, Prince Tony Akeni, the Interim National Publicity Secretary, Labour Party described the claim as a lie as a report from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the President allegedly lives in affluence, beside his monthly salary.
Akeni said Labour Party views the proposed salary increase as not only unconscionable but insensitive, especially at a time when countless Nigerians are passing through untold economic hardship and deprivations, caused allegedly by corrupt ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government.
The opposition party then advised the Chairman of the RMAFC and ‘his unseen collaborators, in and outside the commission’, who are behind this misadventure to immediately retrace their steps in their best interest.
“Perhaps, the RMAFC, by the proposed increase, is encouraging Tinubu administration’s unquestionable borrowings and accumulation of foreign debt that have already mortgaged the future of the nation’s unborn generations.
“If anything, the RMAFC should consider increasing the minimum wage of the Nigerian workers from its present miserable sum of N70,000 per month, which even the United States government in a statement recently advocated for improvement. If a foreign nation could demonstrate such empathy towards our suffering citizens, the RMAFC’s chairman and commission members have no valid excuse not to do more”.
The statement added that the struggle to end the reign of corruption in Nigeria is not going to be an easy one.
“Fellow Nigerians, the fight to dismantle the structure of corruption in and out of the country is not Peter Obi’s fight alone, or that of Labour Party. It is the fight of all the 200 million Nigerians, a fight for our children children and generations unborn.
“APC is burning down our country with a never before seen corruption in virtually every sector of our economy.”
