The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum says it supports the statement by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra that governors and other elected officials should also earn the proposed new national minimum wage in view of the country’s current economic realities.
The National President of the forum, Shettima Yerima who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Monday said that is the only way the elected officials can have a feel of what workers go through in the face of the present economic challenges.
Yerima observed that even though Nigerians are very poor and broke, the lifestyle of government and government officials does reflect that, especially with the obscene flamboyance and public display.
He described the disparity between the earnings of political leaders and the average citizen as staggering which he said cannot be condoned in an equitable society.
According to him, elected officials should be willing to make sacrifices and tighten their belts in solidarity with the people they serve.
Recall that Governor Soludo had, while reacting to the rejection of the proposed sixty two thousand naira minimum wage by the Nigeria Governor’s Forum suggested that governors and other elected officials should earn the minimum wage to have a feel of what workers are going through in the face of economic challenges.