The Nation has unveiled report on how President Muhammadu Buhari other government officials earn every
President Buhari and his vice Yemi Osinbajo
According to report the Federal government spends N 1,126,614,234,434. 38 annually on salaries and allowances of political office holders by the administration, the 36 states and the 774 local government areas.
The new document titled "Policy Brief: Cost of Governance Series (2)" contained this information. It was compiled by the 43 civil society groups under the Citizens Wealth Platform.
The paper is dated October 2015 and has been presented to the government of President Buhari and the National a$$embly.
The 17,774 beneficiaries comprise President, Vice President, Senate president, the House of Representatives Speaker, deputy speaker, ministers, governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives, judges, principal officers and members of the state Houses of a$$embly, commissioners and local government chairmen and their councilors.
Salaries cost N94.959 billion and allowances take about N1,031,654,689,033.18 (N1.031trillion).
The paper reads in part: "The total number of persons benefiting from this fat remuneration in all tiers of government is put at 17, 474 and it costs the Federal Government N173.656billion every year
Remuneration package of government officials
"For state governments, the total cost is N360.091billion while local governments pay N592.865billion every year.
"This raises issues of social justice and the relativity of their remuneration to that of the workers in the same Nigerian economy. The N173.656billion required at the federal level to pay these public officials who are 1,078 in number will pay the N18,000 minimum wage of 9,647,574 workers.
"Of course, the remuneration of other categories of public workers did not take into consideration the need to give them a living wage that will pay for a dignified existence.
"This foregoing raises issues of Social Justice in a country of about 170million persons; whether it is right to dedicate this quantum of resources to service thus infinitesimal percentage of the population.
"For all qualifying for this jumbo pack across the states and local governments of the federation, their number comes up to 17,474 which is 0.010 per cent of the population. The Federal government spends N173.656billion for the huge salaries which in 2015 amounts to 3.87 per cent of the budget.
"There is a wide disparity between the very low minimum wage and apparently outrageous fringe benefits and allowances of these special public officers. The salaries and allowances of these public officers are in far contrast to the minimum wage approved for Grade Level 1 civil servants.
"There should be an equitable relationship between the highest paid, lowest paid and averagely paid public officials."
At the same time President Buhari's ministers inaugurated on Wednesday, November 11 will be paid N487 million as yearly remuneration.
Buhari, who promised to cut the cost of the governance, announced the reduce of the salary paid to his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, by half.
Over the last 4 years of his tenure ex-president received N4.323 billion as salary.
In the same vein, he had within the last three years, paid N626.422 million as tax to the country.
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