Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo has called for governors and other elected officials to be paid the minimum wage to better reflect Nigeria’s financial reality.
Speaking at “The Platform,” a national development event organized by The Covenant Nation, Soludo highlighted the country’s severe economic challenges exacerbated by the extravagant lifestyles of government officials.
“Let’s come clean and straight with Nigerians. Nigeria is very poor and broke, but the lifestyle of government and government officials does not show it, especially with the obscene flamboyance in public display,” Soludo remarked. He criticized the disconnection between the financial hardships faced by the populace and the perceived lavishness of public officials.
Soludo, aligning himself with the views of Reverend Father Mbaka, asserted, “In this case, I agree with Reverend Father Mbaka, who said elected governors should also earn minimum wage. I agree that we should be paid that so that we can feel that as well.” He revealed that he has not drawn a salary since assuming office, donating his earnings to the state instead.
In his address, Soludo urged his fellow officials to reduce wasteful spending and adopt a new code of conduct, underscoring the stark economic realities: “The actual projected revenue for the federal government is about ₦6,160 per Nigerian per month. For the states, except Lagos and a few others, most have revenues amounting to less than ₦3,000 per resident per month. It is from this revenue that we are expected to provide all the infrastructure, debt service, pay salaries and pensions, build schools, and provide everything.”
Soludo stressed the need for elected officials to remain mindful of their fiscal responsibilities, concluding that “once we lose this consciousness about the public trust we bear, the society dies irredeemably.”
