NGF’s one-off retirement package offer for federal civil servants is unrealistic, says CISLAC
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has condemned the plan of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to the federal government to offer Federal Civil Servants above 50 years of age, a one-off retirement package to exit the Service.
In a statement by the Executive Director of the Centre, Comrade Auwal Ibrahim Rafsajani, he described the plan as an “unrealistic and lopsided proposal.”
Part of the statement read, “…Such proposal was tendered in view of reducing overbearing cost of governance that has hitherto rendered Nigeria financially incapacitated to adequately finance the ailing critical sector of the economy, we cannot conceal the fact that it mirrors lop-sidedness, insincerity and lack of readiness by all levels of government to holistically address the contending issues backpedalling country’s socio-economic development.”
While calling on the government to be vigilant on matters irking governance and socio-economic inequalities in Nigeria, it noted that 85 percent of reform efforts have failed since independence.
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Some of its concerns include the needless fuel subsidy regime, which serves as a major contributory challenge to the high cost of governance in Nigeria; unchecked inflated budget-line items, non-existed projects, and the over-costed public contracts that permeates budgetary and procurement processes at all levels; non-existent projects worth N4 billion which was reportedly discovered in the 2020 budget proposal of the National Inland Waterways Agency (NIWA); Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) allegedly spent over N65 billion for the silting and clearing of water hyacinth against the 2.5 billion budgeted for the activity.
It further condemned the proposal by the NGF over unjustified huge salaries, allowances, benefits, and public-paid expenses enjoyed by the governors, their deputies, former speakers, and their deputies throughout and after their tenures.
Rafsanjani said, “We are also worried by the increasing clamours for life-time pensions and benefits accrued to public office holders across the states, constituting a major component of the rising cost of governance.”
However, while urging all levels of government to give serious consideration to economic diversification to agricultural and industrial sectors through targeted public-private partnerships to discourage mono-economy, CISLAC advised President Muhammadu Buhari to be more proactive by addressing corruption, mismanagement of resources, and excessive çumulation of debts.
The centre also recommends immediate removal of the needless subsidies on petroleum, among many others.
