President Buhari and state governors may have received N651.2m in hardship allowance over the past eight years, according to a report by The PUNCH. The allowance, which is 50% of the annual basic salary, is also given to judges in the country. The RMAFC document revealed that the president is entitled to N1.76m annually, while the vice president receives N1.52m. State governors and their deputies receive N1.11m and N1.06m, respectively. The total hardship allowance of the 36 state governors over eight years amounts to N319.68m, while their deputies received N305.28m.
Critics have slammed the outgoing regime for inflicting hardship on workers, as inflation continues to rise in the country. Labour unions have scored the regime low in terms of citizens’ welfare and wellbeing, citing the high cost of living that has made nonsense of the minimum wage. The National Bureau of Statistics has also reported that about 133 million Nigerians live in poverty, which has raised concerns about a looming economic crisis. The International Human Rights Commission has warned that if the poverty rate is not urgently addressed, it could result in a new dimension of hunger never witnessed in Nigeria.
In response to the criticisms, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, stated that Nigerians will adjust to the economic hardships and that such difficulties were not peculiar to Nigeria alone, but to the world at large.
