From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said the 50 percent salary announced by the House of Representatives for its members, in the next six months, though commendable, is not enough.
Atiku, in a tweet, said the “demons” are in the allowances of lawmakers and not in their salaries.
Members of House of Representatives, had at it’s plenary, on Thursday, resolved sacrifice fifty percent of their salaries for six months, owing to the economic hardship in the country.
Nevertheless, Atiku said “the sacrifice of members of the House of Representatives is commendable. But it is a drop in the ocean. The demons are in the allowances and not the salaries of lawmakers and government officials in general.
“Whatever happened to the much-trumpeted implementation of the Oronsaye Report? Recently, the ballooning of MDAs with the attendant cost implications has been observed.
“There’s too much wastage and prioritisation of non-essential expenditures. What is desirable is an across the board cut in expenses. We can no longer afford to borrow money to fund continued irresponsibility in government.’