Assets declaration by civil servants

By The Editorial Board [The Guardian]

The directive, the other day, by President Muhammadu Buhari, making it mandatory for all workers in the federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to declare their assets signposts another level of the effort at winning the war against corruption. No one should be in doubt that asset declaration is a veritable part of the ongoing sanitisation process and extending it to civil servants, as it ordinarily should be, is a welcome development. Except those who have something to hide, the directive should be fully accepted and obeyed immediately as there is a compelling need to rid the civil service of corruption.

The directive came on the heels of overwhelming evidence of financial improprieties and sundry corrupt actions among government workers as gathered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in collaboration with financial institutions at the end of the Bank Verification Number exercise. Mind-boggling deals have been revealed involving all levels of officials in the country’s public service to the extent that, according to reports, what has been found with politicians pales into relative insignificance.

Shun corruption or quit, Buhari warns civil servants

President Buhari has warned civil servants to shun corrupt practices or be shown the way out of the civil service. The permanent secretary in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Muhammed Bukar, who spoke with NAN, said President Buhari gave the warning while receiving notes on the activities of the General Services Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

Senior civil servants demand a minimum wage of N46, 000

The Association of Senior Civil Servants demanded a minimum wage of N46,000 for workers. 

The union’s Secretary-General, Mr. Bashir Lawal, in Lagos State, on Wednesday, said that the existing N18,000 minimum wage was too little to meet the socio-economic demands of workers.

According to him, they arrived at a minimum wage of N46,000 per month after the union met with the National Public Service Joint Negotiating Council.

He said, 

“In the past one year, we presented a proposal for salary review to the Federal Government but the government said that the price of crude had fallen. “We argued that if the price of crude is 30 dollars per barrel and the resources of the country are well managed, money will be enough to pay workers decent salaries.

“From the memo we submitted to the NPSJNC, we computed what it will take for an average worker to survive and we arrive at N66,000. “So, we took 75 per cent of that and we arrived at N46,000 minimum wage.

 Lawal said that the new minimum wage demand will not cause crisis in the economic sector, he said:

“If the government believes that the amount will create crisis, we will tell them what to do to ensure that everybody will be carried along.”