Buhari, Osinbajo, Government Get N651m Hardship Allowance

 

As many Nigerians continue to wallow in hardship, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, state governors, and their deputies may have enjoyed about N651.2m hardship allowance in the last eight years the Buhari regime, according to findings by The PUNCH.

The type of allowance, which is 50 per cent of the annual basic salary, is also enjoyed by judges in the country.

However, The PUNCH report focuses on the amount allocated for the president, vice president, state governors, and their deputies, according to a document obtained from the website of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission.

The RMAFC document disclosed that the president is entitled to N1.76m annually as a hardship allowance. This means that within a period of eight years, Buhari would have earned N14.08m as hardship allowance.

The Vice President is entitled to N1.52m annually, which means that in eight years, Osinbajo would have earned N12.16m as hardship allowance.

While a state governor is entitled to N1.11m annually, a deputy state governor is entitled to N1.06m.

In eight years, the hardship allowance of the 36 state governors would have gulped N319.68m while that of their deputies would have gulped N305.28m.

As Buhari spends his last days in office, labour unions recently scored the regime and state governors low, saying they pauperised workers and inflicted hardship on Nigerians.

They lamented the galloping inflation in the country, which they said had eroded the 40 per cent pay rise recently approved by the Federal Government with effect from January.