By Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki.
The Principal Secretary to Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Matthias Adum has urged the government of all levels not to approve a starvation wage for the civil servants but instead to cut the cost of governance to encourage the labour force in Nigeria.
Adum who made the appeal while interacting with newsmen on Wednesday at Abakaliki, in the spirit of commemorating Nigeria's Democracy Day, further said the allowances of the political officeholders in the country should be rather reduced to augment the civil servants' salaries by President Bola Tinubu's administration.
"Instead of not adding money to the salaries of civil servants, the government should reduce political officeholders' allowances. Let politicians' salaries be reduced to augment the civil servants' salaries. You will see everybody will be happy.
"Don't say that government functionaries are not paid a fat salary, we are paid. I don't belong to a group of people who claim that they are not paid a fat salary.
"The salary of the political officeholders should be reduced, and increase the salary of the civil servants so that they put in their best. There's no government without bureaucracy. It won't work because every group is very important, and the cost of governance must be cut down," Adum recommended.
The former member of the National Assembly regretted that the country's democracy has been characterized by irregularities and urged politicians to embark on a total overhaul of the government institutions, including executive, legislative and judiciary arms to avert a bad leadership system.
He added that the electoral process of the country should be thoroughly reformed and not be expensive, to guarantee a true democratic engagement, especially during the electioneering period.
He recalled how late MKO Abiola's election was annulled through the instrumentality of the military junta, after his victory on 12th June 1993 and maintained that Nigerians must go back to the drawing board by reforming their democratic institutions.
"Even now Nigeria has not come out from that shock of what transpired on 12th June 1993. I don't think a good number of Nigerian politicians have learnt any lesson. Otherwise, how do you fight to win the election?
"South Africa conducted its election, do you see anybody fight, carrying electoral ballots or killing people? Is it it, not the same African country? When someone prepares to participate in an election in Nigeria, he begins to fight even in his village.
"I think, we have to go back to the drawing board, in this country called Nigeria. Until we go into proper recruitment as a nation, we continue having bad leadership. I know you are young ones, but Nigeria had a better yesterday. We must sit down now and prepare for our tomorrow, if not we are not safe as a country.
"Yesterday, former President Goodluck Jonathan was advising Mr President, His Excellency Bola Tinub and the members of the National Assembly to remodel Nigeria's democracy. His advice was to make the country workable so that the general masses would benefit from its democratic dividends. We have to understand that among all forms of government, democracy is the best.
"In the past, democracy was better, but right now, Nigerians have not gotten it right. It's because, at any time, when we have an election, the election must be fraudulent. If you don't believe it, I believe it because, in 1992, I contested the election to go to the National Assembly. Even my opponent came to my house in the evening to congratulate me because I won the election. The election was free, fair and transparent. I didn't give anybody money. I had no money to give people. Do you hear anything about the donation of salt during MKO Abiola's election? There was nothing like that.
"Finally, our electoral process including governance is very expensive. Tinubu is the best person to do it because he is a practical politician. He has suffered for this democracy and was detained, and chased out of this country. This morning, when he was reading his address, I pitted him, for those of us who were chased out of Abuja. We were running for safety, during the Abiola crisis. Having gone into this kind of crisis, I think Nigerians, this is the time to get it right.
"There must be reform in electoral processes. There must be reform in our democratic engagement. The reform should happen now! Tinubu and the National Assembly are best seated to do it, for Mr President has taken bold steps to reform the economic situation of this country. I believe in his electoral engagement."
