Pay cuts for top Nigerian government officials

In a speech on national television Jonathan also announced pay cuts for top government officials and slashed foreign trips.
He said he took the decision to abolish the subsidies because he was determined to leave a “better Nigeria”.
Unions have threatened to stage open-ended general strikes, mass rallies and street protests across the country starting today if the government does not backtrack on its new policy.
The removal of subsidies on January 1 saw petrol prices more than double in a country where the majority of the 160 million people live on less than US$2 a day. President Jonathan admitted, “these are not easy times. But tough choices have to be made to safeguard the economy”.
“I feel the pain that you all feel,” he said in an address to the nation. We must act in the public interest, no matter how tough, for the pains of today cannot be compared to the benefits of tomorrow,” he said. He said the deregulation of the petroleum sector was the best way to curb corruption and ensure the survival and growth of the economy.
“The truth is that we are all faced with two basic choices . . . either we deregulate and survive economically, or we continue with a subsidy regime that will continue to undermine our economy and potential for growth, and face serious consequences.”
President Jonathan, whose government has increasingly come under attack for excessive spending, said top government officials would from this year take a 25 percent pay cut, while foreign trips would also be reduced. Unions were unfazed by Jonathan’s speech, vowing that the strike would go ahead as planned until subsidies were restored.
“President Jonathan lost a great opportunity in his broadcast by sticking to his guns,” the unions said in a statement. The speech “has changed nothing” and the indefinite strikes and mass protests would go ahead as planned. In another last minute attempt to stop the strikes, a court issued an order on Friday seeking to block them. But unions dismissed the ruling as a “black market” order. – AFP.