Politics

The Kenyan effect? Nigerian lawmakers agree to cut salary by 50%

Published

4 months ago

July 19, 2024

Following continued outcry against the high cost of governance amid humongous benefits accruing to public office holders in the face of soaring cost of living in Nigeria, the lower chamber of the country’s legislature— the House of Representatives— has agreed to donate 50% of its salaries for a period of six months.

The position comes after a motion of urgent importance for “An appeal to the proponents of the proposed nationwide protest, to maintain peace, eschew violence and open windows for meaningful engagements with the governments at all levels in order to address their issues” was raised by a lawmaker on Thursday.

There have been reports of an upcoming statewide mass demonstration by youths to show their unhappiness with the country’s hardships, which include high living costs, food scarcity, unemployment, and other issues.A viral poster on social media announced a nationwide demonstration on August 1 about the country’s hardships.

A similar kind of protest recently broke in Kenya, forcing the government to reverse a controversial tax bill, and announcing major cuts in public offices and office runnings. But the protest wasn’t without violence and vandalism. Nigeria like Kenya can be a susceptible the same protest approach with the hunting memories of the 2020 #EndSARS protest fresh.

While recognizing that Nigerians had the constitutional right to seek better living conditions, the Ogun legislator encouraged the youngsters to give the government a chance to solve the nation’s concerns.

Isiaka said, “The citizens of Nigeria have the constitutional right to peaceful assembly and protest to address their grievances but the House is pleading for reason, understanding, and unity in the face of adversity.

“This honorable House appeals to the proponents of the proposed nationwide protest in Nigeria to consider a different path, a path of patience, dialogue, and collaboration, prioritise peace and open channels for meaningful engagements with the government at all levels.

“We urge all stakeholders to uphold the principles of democracy, respect human rights, and uphold the rule of law in their actions and engagements

The Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, presided over the session and gave members the opportunity to contribute to the motion. When it was time for the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, to speak, he amended the prayers by pleading with his colleagues to sacrifice 50% of their salaries to support the government’s intervention efforts to address the situation.

“This government is doing its best, but one year is not enough to address the challenges of this country. I want to plead with our colleagues to sacrifice 50 per cent for a period of six months.

“Our salary is N600,000 a month. I want to plead that we let go of 50 per cent of our salary for a period of six months,” Kalu said.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the general government expenditure consists of total expense and the net acquisition of nonfinancial assets. Despite its growing economic challenge and the uncharitable tag of been “poverty capital” of the world, Nigeria’s public office holders are part of the best paid across the world.

Related Topics:Cost of Governance Featured Kenya Nigeria Nigeria's House of Representatives

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Politics

Ugandan opposition politician abducted, wife says

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to his wife on Wednesday, a well-known opposition leader from Uganda, Kizza Besigye was abducted during a book launch in Kenya over the weekend, taken to Uganda, and detained at a military prison in Kampala.

Despite his rejection of the results, Besigye has run against Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni four times and lost each time, claiming voting intimidation and fraud. He has been arrested several times in the past.

“I request the (government) of Uganda to release my husband Dr Kizza Besigye from where he is being held immediately,” said his wife Winnie Byanyima.

It was not immediately possible to get in touch with a Ugandan military spokesperson for comment.

“As police we don’t have him, so we can’t make any comment,” Ugandan police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told Reuters.
A spokesperson for Kenya’s national police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, one of Uganda’s major opposition parties, had 36 members arrested by Kenyan police in July. They were then deported to Uganda and accused of terrorism-related charges.

On the social networking site X, Byanyima stated that Besigye, who served as Museveni’s doctor during the guerrilla war but later turned into a vocal opponent, was abducted on Saturday as senior Kenyan opposition leader Martha Karua was launching a book.

“I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala,” said Byanyima, who is the executive director of UNAIDS, the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. “We his family and his lawyers demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?”

Museveni’s administration has been charged with repeatedly violating the human rights of opposition leaders and followers, including extrajudicial executions, torture, and unlawful detentions.

Politics

Sudan army chief Burhan meets US envoy

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The United States special envoy to Sudan has made his first trip to the African nation, hoping to bring an end to a horrific war and boost relief to millions of people in need.

After being appointed Washington’s ambassador to Sudan in February, Tom Perriello visited Port Sudan, the army-led government’s de facto capital on the Red Sea coast.

For the first time since the evacuation of the U.S. embassy in April 2023 due to the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a top U.S. official visited the nation.

“We feel an enormous amount of urgency to end this crisis and to ensure that we can … help to get food and medicine and life-saving support to the 20 million people plus that are in need,” a State Department official said before the trip.

Over 25 million people, or half of Sudan’s population, require help, according to the U.N., as hunger has spread to one area and over 11 million people have abandoned their homes.

Sudan’s sovereign council stated in a statement that Perriello spoke with tribal, government, and humanitarian figures in addition to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the country’s army head.

During what the council described as a “lengthy, comprehensive, and frank” discussion, the two men talked about how to provide humanitarian help and how to end the war through a political process.

“The U.S. envoy presented several suggestions which the head of the sovereign council agreed to,” the statement said.

Although the army declined to join U.S.-mediated peace negotiations in Geneva earlier this year, the meetings did obtain commitments from the warring parties to increase access to aid.

A power battle between the army and the RSF preceded a planned shift to civilian government, which is why the conflict broke out more than a year ago.

Perriello discussed “the need to cease fighting, enable unhindered humanitarian access, including through localized pauses in the fighting to allow for the delivery of emergency relief supplies, and commit to a civilian government,” a State Department statement said.

“Right now, I think there’s a key opportunity to build on the expansion of humanitarian aid,” the State Department official stated, emphasising the need for relief corridors to the most battle-ravaged areas, such as al-Fashir, Sennar, and parts of the capital Khartoum, even though the U.S. would continue to pursue a more comprehensive ceasefire and negotiations.

Last Monday, Sudan’s sovereign council announced that it would prolong the temporary opening of the Adre border crossing with Chad. According to relief organisations, this crossing is essential for delivering food and other supplies to famine-prone portions of the Darfur and Kordofan regions.

An RSF official stated at a press conference in Nairobi that while they were still amenable to peace, they had doubts about the army’s readiness.

“They do not listen to any language but that of the rifle, and so we will continue to talk to them in the language they understand,” said Brigadier General Omar Hamdan.