Contrary to the reports that the newly appointed ministers will be subjected to austerity measures, the Presidency has declared that the ministers will earn their full salaries and allowances as approved by law of the land.
President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice-president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, upon assumption of office, had announced their willingness to take 50 per cent salary cut as a result of the economic situation in the country. The decision had prompted mass reactions that the government might apply same measure to other political appointees.
But the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Buhari, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a statement on Saturday, made the clarification in response to a media report that the ministers would earn less than former ministers who served in the administrations of Presidents Goodluck Jonathan.
According to Mallam Shehu, “President Buhari has not tampered with the salaries and allowances of Federal Ministers. They remain as they have been prescribed by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission under a law passed in 2008.”
He noted that the decision to take 50 per cent salary cut by the president and vice-president was a voluntary one and “does not apply to ministers and other political appointees,” saying that “reports to the effect that the president has imposed an austere package on the ministers are unknown to us. The administration has not tampered with the salaries of ministers and that remain as prescribed under the law.”