Politics
Sanusi Was Misquoted?
At a time when, unemployment in Nigeria hit its all-time-high, with young skilled graduates roaming the streets for unavailable jobs, criminality and insecurity at disturbing peaks and with no clear signs of early bail-out for both the manufacturing and industrial sectors, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s call for a 50 per cent reduction of the Civil Service deserves careful analysis.
At a retreat on capital market held in Warri, Delta State last Monday, Sanusi among other controversial vituperations suggested the reduction of public service workforce by half, alluding that workers’ wages were a key hindrance to the growth of the nation’s economy, as weighs heavily on capital needs.
As Central Bank Governor, Sanusi may be concerned about the growing decline in capital projections, which he fears would negatively impact on the infrastructural development efforts of the country. Without basic infrastructure no meaningful job creation effort would succeed hence his worry over how to cut wastages in recurrent spending to fill the lull, in desired capital projections.
To support that argument, Sanusi virtually suggested that Public Servants constitute about 30 per cent of the population but enjoy more than 70 per cent of national earnings, a development which he said amounted to denying over 105 million Nigerians funds needed for basic infrastructure. Sanusi did not imagine that the said figure includes wives and dependants of civil servants.
By his calculation, of a population of about 150 million, since public servants constitute barely 30%, about 45 million and they should not alone earn 70 per cent of the country’s annual budget proposals in form of recurrent expenditure. Therefore, a reduction by at least 50 per cent would be required so as to beef-up capital expenditure to 65 per cent of the annual budget, while, recurrent expenditure is reduced to 35 per cent.
To achieve that Sanusi questioned the need for the bi-cameral legislature Nigeria operates and also queried the economic rationale behind the engagement of 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives.
Similarly, Sanusi called for the scraping of the Local Government system in preference for states as federating units. By that action, what the CBN Governor considers to be a wasteful tier of government would have been eliminated.
From the point of view of an economist in a country where, there is a vibrant private sector participation in industrial pursuits, where, public infrastructure is at its healthiest and manufacturing concerns are in dire need of productive labour, these views would have made sense. But in a country where, more than 50 per cent of its productive youths are without gainful employment and criminality gradually becoming a paying pass-time, Sanusi’s suggestion is a call to hell, insensitive at best, Satanic at worse.
For the basis of argument, it will be proper to take a second look at Sanusi’s mathematics on the public service and see if the civil servant is not contributing enough to society or even more than the Central Bank governor.
Nigeria, has for upwards of 50 years, operated a virtual monolithic economy depended mostly on foreign exchange earnings from oil and gas. These earnings are monthly allocated to states, local government areas and the federal government which are the highest employers of labour.
With a population of over 150 million people and, by Sanusi’s estimates, 45 million forming the workforce, it follows that 30 per cent of the population might well be fending for at least 40 per cent of the population or more. For instance, among the 150 million Nigerians Sanusi uses in his argument are children of civil servants, wives and other extended family members.
If an average civil servant has four children and a wife and provides for their medical, education, housing, clothing and even communication needs, hasn’t such a civil servant done what a responsible government should do for its citizenry? With the meager salary paid the worker, he fends for an average of a wife and two children, if multiplied by 45 million such workers, it means that 135 million of the population has been covered. If the few oil company workers are deducted, the rest may be insignificant.
This makes the Civil Servants family as one of the most productive, prudent and patriotic sectors of the Nigerian economy, as it caters for more than the neglected population than any single economic unit of the economy, a reason why the civil servant remains relatively poor.
Unlike the peanuts given civil servants, the Central Bank alone, with barely 6,015 staff nationwide appropriated and spent as much as N300 billion in 2011, 100 per cent more than the N150 billion the entire National Assembly received in the same year, for which Sanusi wants the bi-cameral legislature abrogated.
Curiously, the same advocate of 50 per cent reduction in public service workforce, not too long ago, increased his own staff strength to 6,015, up from 5,023, a case of ‘doing what I say not what I do.’
For the avoidance of doubt, any attempt at sacking workers would spell greater doom than the problem Sanusi hopes to solve. Not only would it incite increase in crime rate, since many, ordinarily dependent on the meager civil servants’ earnings would be forced to look elsewhere for survival and of course non-existent jobs cannot be option.
Presently, cases of kidnapping, bank robberies, sea piracy and terrorism are a major challenge to the nation’s security pursuits. So, if as much as 50 per cent are thrown into the labour market, what Nigeria daily experiences would be a child’s play. In such a case, the wealthy, top government officials and the affluent few like Sanusi, whose annual salary is enough to pay 100 young graduates in the civil service, will be targets.
Rather than suggest workers’ sack, Sanusi should work out plans to concession infrastructural development, encourage investments in manufacturing concerns and other job creation pursuits. With such alternative sources of job generation and comparatively better pay, the public workforce will naturally thin down in preference for many other competing job offers.
To do nothing of that sort but sentence workers into the unemployment market is to court crisis, increased criminality and indeed unbridled insecurity, neither of which can enhance the meaningful infrastructural development and economic growth that Sanusi desperately yearns for.
Happily, the Federal Government knows and appreciates these imperatives and have since disowned the CBN governor. We understand also that even Sanusi has said he didn’t mean what the people heard and that he was quoted out of contest. We pray so.
Curiously, when he made the remarks, Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, the chief host, quickly challenged Sanusi and warned against the negative consequences of such workers’ sack. But if indeed he was misquoted, the governor’s swift reaction would have offered Sanusi the chance to correct the impression, he said nothing afterwards, until now. Lets welcome Sanusi to the real world, not that of economic theories without contextual support.
My Agony is that many of Sanusi’s kind are of the impression that the average public/civil servant does nothing to deserve his wages, without wondering why lawmakers deserve their jumbo pay any more. Its an unfair generalisation.
Now, perhaps is the time to call for pay parity since all in the economy patronise same market and cater for the nearly 105 million others dependent on workers.
A senator who represented Taraba Central, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, has declared that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu are not yielding the expected results.
His comment is one of the strongest internal critiques yet from within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The comment underscores the growing dissatisfaction within sections of the ruling party over the direction and impact of the administration’s economic reforms amid rising living costs and fiscal pressures across the country.
Mr Yusuf, who served in the Senate between 2015 and 2023 under the platform of the APC, made the remarks during an appearance on national television.
Responding to a question on whether the administration’s economic direction, often referred to as Tinubunomics, was working, Mr Yusuf answered in the contrary.
“For me, it is not working. I am a member of the APC. I would be the last person to hide the facts”, he said.
He said while the government might be operating diligently within its policy structure, the framework itself is ill-suited to Nigeria’s current realities
“Within the policy framework, yes, they are doing their best, but it is not the framework that is suitable for Nigeria at the point in time that President Asiwaju came into power,” he said.
Mr Yusuf criticised the immediate removal of fuel subsidy on the day the president was sworn in, arguing that the decision lacked sufficient consultation and planning.
“I am one of those who say President Asiwaju ought to have waited. Not on the day he was sworn in to say subsidy is gone. On what basis?”, he asked.
He urged broader engagement before major fiscal decisions are taken.
“Sit down with your cabinet, sit down with your ministers, sit down with your advisers,” he said, dismissing the argument that subsidy removal was justified solely on grounds of corruption.
The former lawmaker identified “structural flaws” in the country’s budgeting system, particularly the envelope budgeting model.
“One of the basic problems is that before you budget, you should have a plan. The envelope system we have been operating has been you budget before you plan. That has been a major issue”, he said.
He argued that allocating spending ceilings without aligning them to concrete development strategies inevitably weakens implementation and delivery.
“If you give me an envelope which is contrary to my plan, whether it is plus or minus, there is no way I am going to implement my plan. It is bound to fail,” he said.
Mr Yusuf called for the scrapping of the envelope budgeting system, noting that he had consistently opposed it even during his years in the National Assembly.
“It is not good for us. It is not going to work well for us,” he said.
He further blamed poor capital releases and persistent deficit financing for undermining budget performance over the years.
“We could not meet 60 percent of our capital budget in all these years. No releases. If you make a budget and the release is very poor, there is no way the budget will be executed”, he stated.
According to him, weak fund disbursement mechanisms and reliance on deficit financing have entrenched a cycle of underperformance.
“Our budget ought to have been a surplus budget, but all our budgets have always been deficit financing budgets,” Mr Yusuf added.
The Nigerian House of Representatives has resolved to reconvene for an emergency session tomorrow February 17, 2026, to deliberate on issues arising from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) release of the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
The decision was disclosed in a statement issued by the House Spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi, who described the electoral body’s announcement as one of “constitutional and national significance.”
INEC had fixed February 20, 2027, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to the statement, members of the Green Chamber were notified of the emergency sitting through an internal memorandum from the Speaker’s office.
The session is expected to focus on legislative matters connected to the newly released timetable, reflecting the House’s resolve to act promptly on issues affecting the nation’s democratic process.
Rep. Rotimi noted that all related businesses would be treated with urgency and urged lawmakers to prioritise attendance in view of the importance of the deliberations.
INEC had on Friday formally unveiled the comprehensive schedule for the 2027 polls, including timelines for party primaries slated for July to September 2026, as well as the commencement of Continuous Voter Registration in April 2026.
The development comes amid ongoing consultations and proposed amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As the controversy over the transmission of election results continues across the country, the Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), a pro democracy organisation in the country, has criticised the National Assembly for not giving express approval to real time transmission of elections results.
To this end, the group is calling on all civil society organisations in the country to mobilise and push for a better Electoral Reform in the country.
This was contained in a press statement titled, “Defence For Human Rights and Democracy Demands Real Time Election Transmission of Result”, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
The group described the refusal of compulsory real time transmission of result results by the Senate as undemocratic, adding that the situation will give room for election manipulation, rigging and voters apathy.
It said that the provision of mandatory real time transmission of election results would have significant improvement on the nation’s democracy.
According to the statement, “Since the return of democracy in 1999 to date, it is 27 years, so our Democracy has metamorphosed from being nascent and as such significant improvement should have been recorded.
“Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is really disappointed at the National Assembly, especially the upper chamber (Senate) for not approving ‘Real Time Electronic Transmission of Election Result’.
“This undemocratic act of theirs, if not tamed, will give room for election manipulation and rigging’”.
Signed by Comrade Clifford Christopher Solomon on behalf of the organisation, the statement further said, “The Defence For Human Rights and Democracy unequivocally supports real time transmission of election result”, stressing that his group will resist any act by the National Assembly to undermine the nation’s democracy.
“DHRD,unequivocally supports ‘True Democracy’, which is Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
“Therefore, anything that will crash the hope of Nigerians to Freely, Fairly and Transparently elect candidates of their choice in any given election should and will be vehemently resisted because good governance begins with leaders elected through credible process. By so doing, leaders have entered a social contract with the citizens to equitably manage their affairs and abundant resources”, the statement added.
It urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue in order to avoid civil unrest.
According to the DHRD, “To avoid civil unrest,voters apathy, election rigging and manipulation, rather to promote citizens participation, advancing our Democracy and entrenching free, fair, credible and acceptable electoral outcome, the National Assembly should amend the electoral act in a manner that will deepen our democracy and boost citizens confidence.
“On this note, The Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is calling on all other civil society organisations (CSOs) to mobilise, organise and push for a better electoral act amendment by the National Assembly”.
By: John Bibor