The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, revealed that he and other ministers receive a monthly salary of N942,000 after taxes, and do not receive any allowances except for duty tour allowances when they travel for work.
Dr Ngige said this during an interview on Channels Television's Politics Today,
He also stated that special advisers earn around the same amount, and that the travel allowances for ministers and permanent secretaries were recently reviewed.
“My salary is N942,000 a month. My salary with my PA — gross total after tax — my feeding, my transport, the transport of one PA, the salary of my gardener, my cook, they are all consolidated. After heavy taxation, they pay me N942,000.
“Every minister you see, that is what it is; special advisers earn around that amount too. The allowances are not anything, we don’t have any allowances except if you travel. You can get duty tour allowance like every other public officer.
“It was reviewed to N100,000 for a minister, and I think ministers of states, N75,000; permanent secretaries, N70,000, and down the line. Level one, everybody else’s own was reviewed, not only our own,” he said.
Quizzed on the failure of government to bring down the unemployment rate in the country, which rose to 33.3 percent in 2021, Ngige argued that job creation was a responsibility of the private sector, not just the public sector.
He also blamed decline in foreign direct investment for growing unemployment.
Ngige argued that job creation is not solely the responsibility of the public sector, but also of the private sector.
He emphasized that a strong economy is necessary for job creation, and that the private sector should be encouraged to invest in industries and fields such as agriculture.
