The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has hinted at a possible increase in the salaries of President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, ministers, senators, and other top government officials.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, RMAFC Chairman Mohammed Shehu argued that the current pay structure, unchanged since 2008, is no longer realistic given the country’s growing responsibilities and economic challenges.
“You cannot pay the President of Nigeria N1.5 million monthly with a population of over 200 million people and expect it to be taken seriously,” Shehu said.
He further noted the disparity between the pay of the President and that of heads of government agencies,
“You pay either a CBN governor or the DG ten times more than you pay the President. That is just not right. Or you pay him [the head of an agency] twenty times higher than the Attorney-General of the Federation. That is absolutely not right,” he added.
However, the proposed review has sparked backlash from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which condemned any attempt to raise the salaries of politicians at a time when ordinary Nigerians are grappling with soaring inflation, unemployment, and widespread poverty.
The NLC warned that such a move would be insensitive and unjust, urging the government to instead focus on improving workers’ welfare and reducing the cost of living.
