Asiodu wants President Salary pegged at N30m per annum

Source: huhuonline.com

Elder statesman and former Federal Super Permanent Secretary, Chief Philip Asiodu, is advocating that the annual salary for the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria be pegged at N30m maximum as part of efforts to reduce cost of governance in the

country. He also strongly canvassed for N25m yearly salary and allowance for state governor and an enlargement of the membership of the State Assemblies that should function on part time basis.

The renowned technocrat who spoke Tuesday in Abuja in a lecture titled "Public Service and Transformation Agenda, re defining the roles of engagement " organized by the Institute of Advanced Legal studies and Nigerian Television Authority in honor of retired former chief justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais, deplored the state of the National Economy which he blamed on poor governance and greed by the political class.

Asiodu said that it was criminal for a national law maker in Nigeria to collect as much as N200m per year from a poverty stricken nation. To bring the economy back on the right track, he canvassed that the cost of governance must be drastically reduced at all levels in the interest of the poverty stricken generality of Nigerians.

To start off the economic recovery, Asiodu said that henceforth, the head of the National Assembly, Judiciary and Minister should be placed on maximum salary of N24m per year.

He said that this has become necessary because Nigerians per capital income was just N300,000 per year.

The technocrat also called for reduction in the number of National law makers and that their job should be on part time basis.

Asiodu a former presidential aspirant claimed that the National Assembly members were not facing the hard reality of the country economic crisis with the mouthwatering jumbo allowances and salaries being paid to themselves.

He told the gathering which comprised Ministers, Senators, Traditional Rulers and Top Government officials that American President was earning less than N500,000 per year while the law makers in the country were collecting less than N100,000 and wondered why the Nigerian politics and democracy were made money consuming ventures.

The elder statesman who traced the genesis of the economic crisis from colonial days till date accused the political class of being greed, selfish and self-centered.

According to him, the yearly revenue of the country during colonial era was not more than 40 million pounds adding that the country was yet better then.

He then called for rationalization of ministries and parastatals in line with the Stephen Oronsanye report in order to salvage the National Economy.

Asiodu also called for establishments of farm settlements in order to create food security.

At the lecture chaired by former Vice President Alex Ekwuene, Asiodu asked that local governments be reduced to manageable size for the nation.

He faulted the transformation agenda of the federal government adding that the agenda was not real because it was existing only in the minds of the President alone.

He regretted that most of the ministers and the public servants billed to implement the agenda did not have its full knowledge let alone the Nigerian masses. He said the contents of the transformation agenda of Jonathan administration must be well understood by all in order for it to be effective.