Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari and vice president, Yemi Osinbajo have slashed their salary by 50 per cent.
The duo announced their decision to take only 50 per cent of the salary approved for them by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission in a statement on Friday, July 10, 2015.
The statement, which was made available by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, revealed that Buhari would earn N7m per year throughout his four years tenure as against the approved N14,058,820.00 by RMAFC.
Shehu said the President’s decision to cut his salary by half had been conveyed to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Friday by the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Nebolisa Emodi.
While Shehu didn’t disclose the reason behind the decision in his statement, he hinted that Buhari was sending a clear message to Nigerians on the need to make sacrifices for the nation.
‘That voluntary action of the President is pregnant with meaning. It is a message of sacrifice for national development. Since the President has done this for himself, he is expecting that others will join him in making sacrifices for their fatherland,’ Shehu told Punch.
This is coming barely three days after Buhari turned down an offer by the Federal Government to procure five new armoured Mercedes Benz S-600 (V222) cars for his use.
