Nigeria governor ‘unpaid for eight years’

Mr Aregbesola will hand over the governorship of Osun state at the end of November[/caption]

The outgoing governor of a state in south-west Nigeria says he has not been paid a salary during the eight years he spent in office.

Osun governor Rauf Aregbesola told an audience that he needed no money because the state fed him, transported him and gave him accommodation. “With all these, I don’t need money,” he said. His words were met with scepticism on social media as many people accused him of lying. Nigerian officials’ expenses have been in the spotlight recently, after it was revealed that senators are entitled to monthly expenses of over 13 times more than their salaries. A former governor said at the time that Nigerians would be even angrier to find out what money governors had access to. One social media user mused whether Mr Aregbesola thought he was “talking to underaged sucklings”, while another asked: “How did that ease the suffering of the common man?”

The State feeds me, fuels my car and covers my other expenses. This is why I see no reason to earn a salary. I have no house save the one I built before I became governor of Osun. #OgbeniTillDayBreak

— Rauf Aregbesola (@raufaregbesola) November 17, 2018

Mr Aregbesola will be replaced in the role at the end of the month. His successor Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, who was previously his chief of staff, won a closely-fought election in September. Source: BBC]]>