A former governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi says what governors earn in Nigeria is immoderate. Speaking as a panelist at the dialogue organised by R
A former governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi says what governors earn in Nigeria is immoderate. Speaking as a panelist at the dialogue organised by Ripples Centre for Data and Investigative Journalism in Lagos on Thursday, Obi told the audience that if he revealed how much a Nigerian governor earns, the outrage would be hotter than what trailed the N13.5 million monthly pay of senators.
“None of you know what a governor earns, quote me anywhere if you know you won’t be here. It is something you can’t imagine. You just know the one of senators, and you are shouting, but what if you know that of the governors?” he asked.
Comparing Nigeria with the US, Peter Obi spoke of the modesty in the earnings of public office holders in America.
“America’s GDP is way above Nigeria’s but an American senator earns $174,000 (about N50 million) a year and you can imagine what his Nigerian counterpart earns in a month,” he said.
Obi said while in power, he reduced the vehicles in his convoy to four, adding that he never used a bulletproof car.
“I asked them, why are all these vehicles following me, and nobody was able to explain to me. I didn’t stop it because of them following me, but the cost of maintaining them was high. I asked them why do we need to spend about N30 million fueling these vehicles that 60 percent are empty when following me? What is the essence of a bulletproof car? Anyone who wants to kill you would come when you are out of the car. For eight years I didn’t use a bullet proof car, and they didn’t kill me.”
Obi also noted that politicians are fond of making promises they cannot fulfil when voted into power.
