PROMINENT Nigerians, including human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, have criticised the proposed salary hike for political office holders, calling it grossly insensitive in light of Nigeria’s prevailing economic hardships.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, August 26, Falana, a senior advocate, took aim at the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, accusing it of misplaced priorities and neglecting the daily hardships faced by millions of Nigerians.
“The RMAFC seems to have overlooked the harsh living conditions in the country and the daily hardships endured by ordinary people,” he said.
The ICIR reported that the Chairman of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Shehu, revealed on August 18 that the commission planned to review the salaries of political office holders, describing the current pay structure as “inadequate and outdated.”
Shehu said President Bola Tinubu earned N1.5 million monthly, while ministers received less than N1 million, amounts he said had remained unchanged since 2008.
He argued that the salaries were no longer realistic given the responsibilities of the offices.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was among the first group of Nigerians to oppose the plan.
The NLC cited growing inequality and the hidden perks politicians enjoy as why such plan should be dropped. It said workers earned only N70,000 as minimum wage monthly, which did not reflect the hardship faced in the country.
However, the RMAFC chairman clarified that his organisation only determined the salaries of political, judicial, and legislative officers, not civil servants.
He added that the commission has also begun reviewing Nigeria’s revenue-sharing formula, which has not been revised since 1992 to reflect current socio-economic realities and reduce overdependence on the Federal Government.
Reacting to the proposal on Channels TV, Falana cited recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data indicating that over 133 million Nigerians lived in multidimensional poverty, questioning the justification for any salary increase for public officials.
“At this point, proposing higher wages for political office holders is not only tone-deaf but also unfair to the majority battling severe economic pressure,” he added.
Similarly, Former presidential candidate and Labour Party leader, Peter Obi, criticised the proposal describing the move as a “shameless grab for more” at the expense of Nigeria’s struggling majority.
Obi in a statement on his X handle said salary hike was “totally unjustifiable” and exposed the “greed and insensitivity” of political leaders.
“The recent proposal by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to increase the salaries of political leaders is causing widespread anger and bitterness among Nigerians, and we share the concerns of many Nigerians who question the necessity and timing of this proposal.
Similarly, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar condemned the move, stating that whoever conceived the idea of “salary increase for government officials doesn’t even mean well for the administration”.
In an interview with DAILY POST, Atiku’s spokesperson, Paul Ibe, said the policies of Tinubu’s administration were designed solely for the benefit of those in power.
“It is all to serve their interests. We saw how much that was wasted on the vice president’s residence” Ibe said.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.