A Group calling itself ‘Concerned Nigerians’ has petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan over the jumbo pay of lawmakers in Nigeria.
Leader of the group, Bedford Umez has described the salaries doled to lawmakers as “unjustifiable, wrong, cruel and unconscionable.”
In a petition dated March 31st the group called for the slashing of the outrageous pay. Copies of the petition were made available to US President Barack Obama, and his deputy Joe Biden. Copies were also made available to David Mark, Amin Tambuwal, all State governors, the supreme Court, Nigerian Labour congress and Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.
The petition reads, “The ever widening gap between the rich and the poor in Nigeria is totally unjustifiable. Indeed, to know that an average Nigerian civil servant (with a yearly salary of N240,000) will never earn the monthly pay of a Nigerian Senator (N23.4m) or a Nigerian House of Representative (N20m) in his or her life time is an outrage; it is wrong, cruel, and unconscionable.
“Put differently, it will take at least 97 years for an average civil servant in Nigeria to earn N23.4m, the monthly pay of a Nigerian Senator; or 83 years for an average civil servant in Nigeria to earn N20m, the monthly pay of a Nigerian House of Representatives member. Alternatively, consider, Your Excellency, how many average civil servants the annual pay of Nigerian legislators can employ each year.”
“All told, Nigerian legislators (109 Senators plus 360 House of Representatives members) are earning what would conveniently employ, each year, about half a million Nigerian civil servants, earning N20, 000 per month. Mr. President, this is unacceptable,” the petition read.
The group stated that each Nigerian senator takes home N280.5 million, whilst each Representative takes home N239.3m.
Umez urged Nigerians to sign the petition by sending an email to [email protected] on or before April 15, 2014.