Buhari, Osinbajo, Others Have No Legal Right To Reduce Their Salaries, Says Oyedepo

THE Chairman of Kwara state chapter of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Iyiola Oyedepo has described as “ cosmetic exercise” the announcement of the cut in salaries of President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo as a measure aimed at cushioning the harsh effects of the nation’s economy.

Oyedepo who is also a legal practitioner, in a chat with The Guardian in Ilorin, Kwara State capital sharply criticised the alleged direct announcement of the cut in salary by the duo, rather than the bodies legally recognised to do so (Salaries and Wages Commission and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

Besides, the PDP chieftain believed that salaries were just a fraction of the many sources of funds for the duo, believing instead on the need by the President in particular to initiate a Bill before the National Assembly recommending a drastic reduction in the number of Federal and states appointments, as the most veritable means of reducing financial excesses in governments. 

He said, “legally speaking the President and his Vice have no rights cutting their own salaries by themselves. The responsibilities to add to or deduct from salaries rest with either the RMAFC or the SWC. But it is unfortunate that in Nigeria we love to chase shadow rather than substance.

“In particular is the issue of governance in Kwara state. Our case is most pathetic here especially in the last six years. No cut in salaries could have served a palliative purpose or panacea to the already dwindled mismanaged economy.”

For the PDP leader, Buhari should have gone to the National Assembly with a Bill on the recommended number of those truly needed in both the Federal and states’ cabinets. Enough of duplication of portfolios in the name of political patronages. In Kwara state, the government keeps about 114 Advisers, Senior and Special Advisers, Assistants and so on. Whereas, as a Commissioner in the same state in 1992, I think we were just eight or thereabouts. Has the geographical size of the state increased?

We need to look inward if we must reduce the huge cost of governance.”

He lauded the state for its recent decision to stop the wasteful annual sponsorship of citizens on pilgrimages, noting, “this is another drain pipe of the economy of the state.”

Oyedepo, while canvassing periodic publications of the records of the saved money due to the government’s newly embraced austere measures, believed that only the step could justify the actions of the government on the economy.