PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo criticized President Bola Tinubu’s recent wave of appointments, a day after the presidency announced the addition of six more media aides.
Concerns have been raised around Tinubu’s expanding government and the cost of governance.
PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo criticized President Bola Tinubu’s recent wave of appointments, a day after the presidency announced the addition of six more media aides.
In a statement at the Energy and Labour Summit 2023 in Abuja, Osifo, who also leads the Trade Union Congress (TUC), noted the urgent need for the government to shrink its size, reduce costs, and ensure transparency in its operations.
Speaking passionately, Osifo highlighted the disparity between the government’s burgeoning bureaucracy and the suffering of ordinary Nigerians. He questioned the logic of slashing fuel subsidies while the government continued to indulge in lavish expenditures.
“You cannot continuously do things the way it was done in the past, and you are now telling the generality of the people that they have to tighten their belts,” Osifo remarked, expressing the sentiments of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.
The PENGASSAN president stated the need for accountability, stressing that the government must reduce the cost of governance to secure funds effectively.
He raised concerns about the ever-expanding size of the government, citing the recent appointment of six media aides as an example.
Osifo expressed fears that the existing 48 ministers might lead to a bloated bureaucracy, with ministers recruiting more aides, thereby increasing public spending.
“Government appointments are endless. We have 48 ministers at the moment, and some of these ministers, at the end of the day, are going to recruit aides; they are going to recruit PAs and PAs to PAs. Before you know it, that government size is going to be bloated as well,” Osifo pointed out.
The PENGASSAN president called on his association and other stakeholders to hold the government accountable and proposed the formulation of policy statements to curb unnecessary expenses.
