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.
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar

A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
Politics
Tinubu’s Contribution To Buhari’s Presidency Marginal – Ex-SGF

For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Politics
Your Lies Chasing Investors From Nigeria, Omokri Slams Obi
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.
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