COVID-19: Ndume demands pay-cut for civil servants

Ali Ndume, Senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, has called for a slash of the salary of civil servants who no longer go to work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ndume made this known during a media briefing in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital on Monday.

He stated that despite the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State and the Federal governments are spending more to sustain personnel and non-personnel costs.

He opined that those who are not going to work now should be given palliatives and paid less.

He said “The government should critically look at the recurrent and personnel expenditure which consumes about 70% of the budget.

“More should be pumped into Capital and people should make sacrifices because this is the time to look at issues critically.

“I think there should be more sacrifice, especially on the personnel side.

“How can you sustain the same personnel and overhead cost when even the work they are doing, most people don’t go to the office now and they are being paid fully for the month. Is there any justification for that?”

“If you can’t work because of the pandemic, then you should be given palliatives and be paid less,” he added.