May 22, 2015 : Toluwani Eniola
President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari
A
former Minister of Finance during the military regime of the
President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, Dr. Onaolapo Soleye, has called on
the President-elect to address the failure of state governments to pay
their workers’ salaries.
Soleye, in a statement on Thursday, urged
Buhari to give the affected state governments an ultimatum to pay
outstanding entitlements of their workers or face sanctions.
He said, “If Buhari wants to succeed in
office, I suggest that he starts by addressing the inability of many
state governments to pay workers’ salaries. It is shameful and a
national disgrace as well as unethical and a great disservice for the
state governments not to pay workers that they are using to execute
their programmes.
“I urge Buhari to address the issue as
soon as he assumes office. If possible, I want him to give state
governments that owe workers an ultimatum within which to pay or face
the wrath of the Federal Government.”
The former minister also advised the
President-elect not to compromise his anti-corruption stance, urging him
to ensure that governance is not business as usual.
Recounting his experience while working
under Buhari in the 1980s, Soleye said, “He is a man who is highly
religious, fears God and has absolute confidence in those working with
him. Even as a military Head of State, he was not as dictatorial as many
of his critics want Nigerians to believe.”
Soleye decried the high costs of governance and called for a drastic reduction.
He said, “I also want to canvass
reduction in the cost of running the government by at least 50 per cent.
I am of the opinion that we are wasting money in running government. I
find it scandalous that our Senate President earns more than the United
States President. That is outrageous and must be addressed. Although my
suggestion may be met with stiff opposition from members of our National
Assembly, I think this is the best for Nigeria.”
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