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From Paul Orude, Bauchi
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has supported a move by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to increase remuneration packages for political office holders in the country.
Mohammed stated this on Thursday while fielding questions from journalists at Government House, Bauchi shortly after he received RMAFC officials on a courtesy call to his office.
“They (RMAFC) have already come out with a salary structure,” he stated.
“What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
“Of course they are looking at the coffers and general collection.
“Political office holders are entitled to get some increase in their salaries and they have already done it and it is being ratified and of course I am a labour friendly governor.
“I would not mind if the salaries are increased.
“I am one of the states that are paying the minimum wage with consequential adjustment because as a civil servant who grew through the process and passed through all the means of public service.
“I knew where the shoe was pinching and its importance to have labour and to give integrity to labour and salaries and wages increase”
RMAFC Federal Commissioner Kabiru Usman, from Gombe State while responding to a question from a journalist, has assured that remuneration of office holders would be increased to curb corruption in view of the present economic realities.
“Political office holders are human beings and also public workers who go to the market like everybody,” Usman stated.
“The Commission under paragraph 32 (b) is empowered to determine the salary of political office holders and judicial workers in the state.
“We have undertaken a work on it, we have revised it but we are looking at the situation for now”
We are looking at responsibilities attached to public offices.
“Everybody is coming to political offices and people go to them when they have a problem.
“So if your friend is a Commissioner and earns N30, 000 would you go to him?
“We are doing that with all sense of responsibility. We don’t want corruption.
“People who are operating at the public level have the opportunity to come close to public funds and if somebody is managing millions and his salary is N50,000, are you sure he is not going to temper with what is there?”
He assured the intention of the RMAFC was not to make political office holders end up with fat salaries
“Whatever we are paying there are certain principles that we look upon before we increase that salary,” he said.
“Apart from the cost of living index initially, the former salary that we have when a bag of rice was sold at a particular price now the cost of the same bag is over N50, 000.
“Things have changed because the cost of electricity, gas, and telephone are going astronomically high.
“If you say you are paying the governor say N5000 for the cost of telephone, how many hours does a governor need to talk in a day?
“If I am a minister of the federal republic and you are giving only a bag of rice in my house, is that adequate?”
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