The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigeria Labour Congress have kicked against the planned upward review of the remuneration packages of political and public office holders across the country.
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission had announced last week that it would embark on a comprehensive review of salaries for the President, Vice-President, ministers, governors, lawmakers, and other political office holders.
According to the commission, the current pay structure, unchanged since 2008, was “paltry” and did not reflect the responsibilities of the offices.
RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Bello Shehu, told journalists in Abuja that President Bola Tinubu currently earns N1.5m monthly while ministers receive less than N1m, figures he described as a “joke” given Nigeria’s size and population.
He argued that the president and ministers were being paid far less than heads of agencies and the Central Bank governor, some of whom earn 10 to 20 times more than the president and attorney-general of the federation.
“It’s about time that people support the commission to come up with reasonable living salaries for ministers, DGs and the president,” Shehu insisted.
But the NLC, in a statement on Sunday by its President, Joe Ajaero, described the proposal as “insensitive, unjust, inequitable and provocative,” warning that it would deepen poverty and widen inequality between political office holders and ordinary Nigerians.
The union said, “We have listened with a growing apprehension to the justification for this ill-advised adventure by the Chairman of RMAFC, Mr Mohammed Usman, but we find it appropriate to warn that making public office a sanctuary for wealth-making (for literally doing nothing) instead of service and sacrifice will raise the stakes and desperation for political positions with intended and unintended consequences, including self-extinction.
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“Mohammed Usman’s explanations, largely puerile, insult our collective intelligence as they say nothing of the humongous advantages tied to these offices elegantly couched as perquisites, ways and means, while the poor live only on hopes and dreams (Bob Marley).”
The congress argued that the review was coming at a time when civil servants faced a salary freeze in many sectors, with a N70,000 minimum wage still struggling to be implemented across states due to alleged lack of resources.
It recalled that while the last wage review for civil servants was less than 50 per cent, the subsequent review for political office holders exceeded 800 per cent.
Ajaero added, “Whereas with civil servants, wage reviews or promotions are dependent on resource availability, with political office holders this rule does not operate. We equally note with dismay that whereas states operate different pay structures for civil servants, the pay structures of political office holders are the same across the country. This explains why a councillor in Yobe State earns the same salary as a councillor in Rivers State.”
While acknowledging the need for fair remuneration, NLC insisted it must be equitable and across board, not discriminatory.
“One of the most heinous crimes against humanity is the institution and promotion of apartheid in any human setting, no matter how subtle,” it warned.
The labour centre therefore demanded that: “The current earnings of all political office holders be made public; the benchmark for the proposed review also be published; and RMAFC should put the exercise on hold before it triggers a tsunami.”
On its part, SERAP in a letter dated August 23, 2025 and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately stop the proposed salary hike, describing it as “patently unlawful and unconstitutional.”
SERAP called on the President to reject the proposal and advise his vice-president, governors and lawmakers to do the same, stressing that raising politicians’ salaries amid widespread poverty and economic hardship would be unjustifiable.
The group further urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to enforce a subsisting judgment of Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which directed RMAFC to reduce the salaries and allowances of National Assembly members to reflect current economic realities.
SERAP said, “The RMAFC’s constitutional and statutory mandates clearly do not imply unrestrained powers to increase the salaries of the president, vice-president, governors, their deputies, and lawmakers. Rather than cut the excessive allowances of political office holders and life pensions for former leaders, RMAFC is acting consistently to give advantage to politicians over the interests of poor Nigerians.”
The organisation argued that the move violated Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution on Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, and breached Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
It added that suspending the planned review would serve the public interest, especially as over 133 million Nigerians live in poverty while many states struggle to pay workers’ wages and pensions.
SERAP further warned that it would take legal action to compel compliance if the Federal Government failed to halt the plan within seven days.
However, it expressed support for an upward review of judges’ salaries, noting that improved pay for judicial officers was critical to the independence of the judiciary and access to justice for victims of corruption and rights violations.
