The Presidency yesterday clarified that President Muhammadu Buhari will not force those who would be appointed as his ministers and aides to slash their salaries.
This clarification is coming on the heel of Friday’s announcement of the decision by Buhari and Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo to take only 50 per cent of the salary approved for them by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC.
This triggered the speculations in some quarters that the President is likely to impose it on those he would appoint into his cabinet to take the same decision.
But reacting to this fear, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, told Punch that the decision taken by Buhari and Osinbajo on their salaries was personal to them.
Insisting that the fact that the President and the Vice President decided to follow that path did not make their decision a government policy, Shehu stressed that Buhari would have issued a directive through the proper channel if he wanted to make it a government policy for public office holders to cut their salaries.
According to him, “The decision taken by the President and Vice President was a voluntary thing.
“The decision is not a government policy, it is personal.
“You will observe that the President did not say they should issue a circular.
“If he wants it to become a government policy, he will issue the directive through a proper channel. He won’t make it compulsory, that is the position for now,” Shehu noted.
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