The Nigerian government and other oil producing nations are seriously feeling the impact of the slump in oil prices, and all the countries have devised ways through which they could survive the tough times.
In the Gulf states, the governments have already removed subsidies which the citizens enjoyed before now, while also introducing tax. It may surprise Nigerians that the majority of the citizens of these states, before the current economic crisis, did not pay taxes.
In Saudi Arabia, political office holders and members of the royal family have taken a 20 per cent pay-cut, which has, therefore, been diverted to other purposes to assist the economy bounce back to the pre-recession era.
Therefore, our political office holders should take a pay reduction as it was done in Saudi Arabia. Our politicians earn so much that it baffles me that a struggling economy like Nigeria can continue to service the pay of those in government. While Saudi Arabia’s political office holders took a 20 per cent pay cut, those in Nigeria should take a 40 per cent reduction in pay.
- Hakim Jabar,
Abuja.