By Ayo Yusuf
As Nigerians continue to criticise the National Assembly for reckless spending in a tough national economy, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has recommended a 50 per cent cut in the salaries and allowances of political office holders and members of the National Assembly, NASS.
Prof. Moghalu made this appeal while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
The economist noted that, despite the hardship facing Nigeria in the wake of the petroleum subsidy removal, the country’s governance culture encourages extravagance among political leaders and appointees.
He said, “The culture of governance is a very important issue that needs to be addressed and the tone has to be set from the top – from the presidency down. It has to include the National Assembly because a lot of resources go there and they are supposed to be independent of the executive.
“So, they themselves must come on board, examine themselves, and say: ‘Look, even if we have been making this mistake in the past, we cannot continue this way. We have to cut our salaries.
“I recommend a 50% cut for all political office holders and all national legislators. It would make people a little bit more sober. It would make them understand that we are in hard times.”
Prof. Moghalu, who noted that some Scandinavian countries have their leaders take mass transit and even ride bicycles to work, argued that Nigeria’s governance culture puts self-service above people-service.
He said, “So the culture of governance – all these excessive demonstrations of power and influence – is a very negative culture because it shows that government is not for service.
“It is for self-aggrandisement. It is for political power for its own sake, not for leadership and service.”
Prof. Moghalu berated the political leaders for not replicating what they see in developed countries in Nigeria.
He added that, “So, my comment is simply a reflection of the fact that the political class in Nigeria – more broadly – has prevented the economic progress of the country because of their own self-seeking and rent-seeking behaviour. This is the problem, not borrowing.”
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives had on Sunday, admitted that each of its 360 lawmakers received a brand new Prado SUV totaling N57.6 billion although it claimed the cars were not personal gifts but the property of the National Assembly.
Prof. Moghalu warned that Nigeria is becoming a carcass and the political class its scavengers. He said the actions of the lawmakers showed that Nigeria is not yet serious as a country.
“There is a real problem when Nigeria is set to borrow another $1.5 billion from the World Bank for budget support and SUVs worth N160 million each are reportedly been bought for 360 members of the House of Representatives. We are not yet serious as a country.
“Nigeria is becoming a carcass and our political class, its scavengers! If I were president of Nigeria or governor of a state, no government official will drive a foreign made vehicle at government expense (procurement) when we have local alternatives. That is one demonstration of patriotic leadership and commitment to cutting the cost of governance,” he said.
