Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, has said that the 50 per cent pay cut is not the way out of our present situation in the country.
Umahi said this on Sunday while addressing journalists after he paid a visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Umahi said “To me, this 50 per cent pay cut by some of the governors is not the way out of our present situation in the country. For instance, I earn N600,000 per month and if that is halved, I will take home N300,000 in a month. That is not the kind of money that will turn around the fortune of my people in Ebonyi State.
“I strongly feel we should go beyond that level; we should endeavour to re-invent our respective states to make them viable and more productive.”
He added that he has taken steps to increase Ebonyi’s internal revenue generation.
He said “Since revenue being generated from oil has dwindled which has led to serious reduction in Federal Allocation, our administration has taken steps to look for alternative means of generating money.
“First, we upgraded our civil service because that is key to the actualisation of our policies. Then, we are working seriously to bring in as many investors as possible into our state to partner with us especially on rice production.
“I sincerely find it ridiculous that as at now, we still import food and something as minute as toothpicks from overseas.
“With huge investment and infrastructure, Ebonyi has the capacity to produce enough rice to feed Nigerians and even produce for export. This is because of our vast land for rice cultivation and people who have a lot of potential.
“In Ebonyi, we have others like five rice mills but there is paucity of fund to make the facilities world-class. And on this, we have approached the Federal Government for assistance.
“Apart from that, we will tap the mineral resources like copper, bauxite, clay and other God-given resources, and make the state one of the best in the country.”