Dr. Joseph Odok, a political scientist and university lecturer, has cast doubt on the usefulness of increased funding for state governments from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), arguing that the increase in revenue has failed to strengthen the buying power of Nigerians.
According to Odok’s social media post, workers’ purchasing power has decreased despite higher nominal incomes, suggesting that the increase in allocations and salaries has not improved living conditions.
In a statement, the lecturer reflected on his time as a Lecturer II and how easy it was to fuel and maintain his car. However, he lamented that several professors were struggling to do the same due to the current economic circumstances.
He said that the issue was caused by the naira’s depreciation and the growing cost of living, and that governments and workers would not necessarily benefit economically from an increase in the amount of money available to them.
Odok also contended that President Bola Tinubu’s policies of increasing federal allocations to states had failed to produce any discernible gains in development or poverty alleviation.
According to him, many workers’ living circumstances have not improved despite the national minimum wage being raised from N30,000 to N70,000. In fact, they are now worse off in terms of purchasing power.
After hearing an analysis by Rufai Oseni of Arise News, my view of the connection between higher federal allocations and the economic situation in Nigeria changed,” the professor stated. There should be no misunderstanding that increased tax income implies better economic conditions. Citizens’ purchasing power should be the true metric.