News
‘It’s Time To End Jumbo Pay For Political Office Holders’
Stakeholders in the South-South have called for a downward review of political office holders’ pay in Nigeria to curtail increasing money politics in the country.
A cross section of those who spoke with newsmen in the zone attributed the rising poor leadership in the country to money politics.
A Port Harcourt-based businessman, Mr Martin Egwe, said the increasing money politics in Nigeria was due to the jumbo pay of political offices holders.
Egwe said high cost of nomination forms and other logistics have also turned politics into a highly expensive venture for only those who could afford it.
“Politicians are ready to part with huge sums of money during electioneering as they are sure of recovering their investments when they eventually take over power.
“This perception has also resulted in unhealthy competition among politicians and they flaunt cash to some gullible voters who are determined to align with them.
“Such voters go for the highest bidder irrespective of his track records and capabilities,” he said.
Another respondent in Port Harcourt, Mr Zovah Bari, said most Nigerians had lost faith in the ruling class and rather exchange their support and votes for money.
“The dangerous practice of money politics has left politicians with no option than go as far as borrowing just to appease the voters.
“Politics has become so competitive and juicy in Nigeria to the extent that very sensitive positions are consistently left in the hands of incompetent politicians.
“Such politicians have already understood how to recouped and profit themselves from constituency and developmental funds,” he said.
In Delta, a human rights lawyer, Mr ChukwukaAnimadu, said that money politics had led to emergence of incompetence leadership at different levels in the country.
According to him, most money-bags in politics lack self-confidence; hence they resort to money inducement to get political power.
“The problem is that when we allow money to rule us against intellectual ability and capacity, we do so to entrench bad leadership to the detriment of our nation’s progress.
“A candidate, who lacks political ideology and philosophy to be a leader, can never be a good leader.
“He rules as it pleases him and as citizens live to lament because they cannot challenge such a leader after all,” he said.
Another lawyer and Executive Director, Young Nigerians Rights Organisation, Mr Victor Ojei, said that money politics has left a big challenge to enthronement of good governance in Nigeria.
Ojei said that the increasing huge spending in politics was the main cause of the country’s problems and a clear indication that the country’s democracy was in crisis.
“The rise of money politics as we are seeing today has been the main factor that has adversely affected Nigeria’s leadership generally.
“The increasing money politics has no doubt helped to consolidate the power of the elite and the political exclusion of the masses.
“Unless the situation is changed, reforms aimed at curbing corruption and improving governance in the country will not produce the desired results,” Ojei said.
He advocated for the amendment of the Electoral Act 2022 to reduce the amount of money politicians could spend during elections.
In his contribution, a former politician, Mr Abel Okitiamu, said money politics in Nigeria portended great danger for the nation’s democracy and made mockery of the nation’s democratic experience.
“What we are seeing now in our political life may be interesting to some people, because their persons are winning.
“But let me tell you that the practice of giving tickets to the highest bidder will in no distant time cause us a lot.
“Because when we mortgage our conscience for monetary benefits, we do great harm to democratic principles. We sell out our future,” Okitiamu said.
On his part, the Chairman of Zenith Labour Party in Edo, Mr Bishop Akhalamhe, said reduction in the allowances and salaries of political office holders would help in checking the trend.
Akhalamhe said that the increase in spending in politics, especially vote buying, had hindered the emergence of quality leaders in Nigeria.
According to him, delegates to political party primaries had become a big problem in the electoral process because they vote for the highest bidder instead of those with good ideas and plans for the country.
“The problems we have in this country are party delegates. It has become so difficult to get quality leaders because of their greedy nature.
“Unfortunately, these quality leaders have no money to spend on delegates. Even the electorate themselves are also involved in this money politics.
“They accept your ideology and plans but abandon you midway because you don’t have money to share,” Akhalamhe said.
The chairman said that if the practice was not jettisoned it would be very difficult to have good leaders.
He said if that was done, patriotic Nigerians who had interest of the nation at heart would be able to emerge and Nigeria would be better.
In Calabar, Country Director, International Training, Research and Advocacy Project, Dr. McFarlane Ejah, said Nigerian politicians would want hunger and poverty to prevail in the country to perpetuate themselves in power.
Ejah said the quantum of money thrown around by politicians in Nigeria during party primaries the way they went about it was absurd and an insult to the collective sensibilities of the citizens.
According to him, this is possible because many Nigerians are hungry and live in abject poverty, making it easy to lure “them to self-destruction by sharing accumulated stolen wealth of the people.”
“Nobody invests to lose; so, when a man picks a presidential nomination form for as much as N100million and bribes delegates with as much as $10,000 to $20,000 each, what will he do when he gets into office?
“The salary of the President for 4 years is just above N50million, but when he buys his nomination form for N100million not counting the ones spent for consultation and bribing of the delegates, there is a problem.
“This portends danger for the country because the rate at which we are going our children have no future, and we are not serious about taking the bull by the horn to redeem the nation,” he said.
A lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa, Mr Festus Ebimo, Said only self-centred politicians bribed the electorate to have political power.
According to him, politics and leadership are not meant for self-centred people.
He described politics in Nigeria as “who get what at a given time at all cost and in the detriment of the people they are supposed to protect.”
Ebimo said that the last Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primaries was a show of wealth by the aspirants and all about who could pay the delegates the highest amount of money to be voted for.
A respondent in Uyo, Prof. Christopher Ekong, said that bribing delegates in the process of electing candidates during primaries was inimical to the country’s democracy.
Ekong, an aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in AkwaIbom, said the masses should be blamed for demanding money before voting for candidates.
“The followers are the one creating problem for this country and not the leaders. If you see the way they fight to become delegates, you will marvel.
“A situation where there is a contest and the people you are going to represent are demanding for money before they vote for you to represent them is quite worrisome,” Ekong said.
Also, a chieftain of the APC in AkwaIbom, Mr EsemeEyiboh, “the only way we can get out of this is to change our recruitment process. Those with capacity and ability to perform should be allowed to lead not money bags”.
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.