Elected political office holders, starting from President Bola Tinubu to local government councillors, as well as judicial and other public office holders, are to receive a 114% pay increase, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) says.
Under the Nigerian constitution, the RMAFC determines the remuneration paid political to office holders, including the president, vice president, governors, deputy governors, ministers, commissioners, special advisers, legislators and other related officials.
Muhammadu Shehu, chairman of the RMAFC, said a review for this class of officials was last done in 2007, and it is time for an adjustment.
He spoke in Birnin Kebbi on Tuesday through Rakiya Tanko-Ayuba, a federal commissioner in the agency, while presenting the reports of the reviewed remuneration package to Gov. Nasir Idris of Kebbi.
Mr Shehu said the effective date for the implementation of the reviewed remuneration packages was January 1, 2023.
None yet for citizens
The announcement comes at a time Nigerian workers are calling for increased pay as citizens face rising living costs. Consumer prices rose 22.4% in the last one year to May and is expected to rise further following the removal of petrol subsidy and the devaluation of naira.
The government has said it will discuss calls for wage increase but has not given a clear committment yet.
‘Subjective and objective criteria’
Mr Shehu called on the 36 state houses of assembly to quickly amend relevant laws to allow the implementation of the new packages for public office holders.
“Sixteen years after the last review, it is imperative that the remuneration packages for the categories of the office holders mentioned in relevant Sections of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) should be reviewed,” he said, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
To arrive at new rates, Mr Shehu said the commission held a one-day zonal public hearing simultaneously in all the six geo-political zones on February 1, and applied “subjective and objective criteria.”
“The subjective criteria reflected the various expression by stakeholders through memoranda received, opinion expressed during the zonal public hearings and responses to questionnaires administered,” he said.
“The objectives of the criteria were obtained from analysis of macro-economic variables particularly the Consumer Price Index (CPI).”
He said the commission was also guided by the principles of equity and fairness, risk and responsibilities, national order of precedence, motivation and tenure of office.
Considering all these, the remuneration of the political, public and judicial office holders in the country was adjusted upward by 114%, he said.
The commission recommended that allowances and fringe benefits be maintained at current levels.
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