George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Action Alliance (AA), Imo State has urged constituents to recall any lawmaker averse to slash of salaries and allowances.
State chairman of the party, Ifeanyi Okponwa-Eze, in a statement was reacting to a media report that some members of the state House of Assembly were against any move to slash their salaries and allowances.
Okponwa-Eze said it smacks of insensitivity and selfishness for the legislators to refuse a salary cut at a time Imolites and Nigerians as a whole are going through difficult economic situation.
He called on constituents to begin a process of recalling any lawmaker who is not ready to give up some pay in order to save the economy.
The chairman submitted that salaries and allowances of all political appointees and even the state governor should be slashed as part of measures towards rescuing the economy.
He condemned a situation where politicians gulp larger chunk of the resources, while the state struggles to pay peanuts as salaries to civil servants.
“The peanuts being given to Imo workers as salaries are yet to be paid for months, coupled with the heartrending conditions of pensioners, that are still unattended to, and somebody who goes home with something at the end of the month is over there talking rubbish. Not just their salaries, all allowances should be touched. And the governor should also cut his salary and allowances. The slash should go across board. All political office holders, commissioners, SAs, SSAs etc.”, he maintained.