“Federal Govt to Increase Salaries of President, VP, Ministers, Senators”

The Federal Government, through the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), has indicated plans to review the salaries of political office holders.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, August 18, RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, described the current earnings of top government officials as inadequate and outdated given their responsibilities and the economic realities of the country.

According to him, President Bola Tinubu currently earns ₦1.5 million monthly, while ministers take home less than ₦1 million.

He said these figures had not been adjusted since 2008.

“You are paying the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria N1.5m a month, with a population of over 200 million people. Everybody believes that it is a joke,” Shehu said.

He argued that some heads of government agencies currently earn ten to twenty times more than ministers or even the president, a disparity he described as unfair and demoralising.

He added, “You cannot pay a minister less than N1m per month since 2008 and expect him to put in his best without necessarily being involved in some other things. 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.”

Clarifying the commission’s role, Shehu stressed that RMAFC was constitutionally empowered only to determine the salaries of political, judicial, and legislative office holders, not the minimum wage for civil servants.

“We are strictly restricted to political office holders, governors, senators, legislators, ministers, DGs, and other people,” he added.

He said this in response to the challenge by the Nigeria Labour Congress, who argued that the proposal ignored the country’s worsening inequality and the hidden perks that already inflated earnings in government.

While public outrage often surrounds politicians’ pay, official records show that Nigeria’s political office holders have not had their basic salaries adjusted in over 15 years.

For instance, a recent fact-check by The Fact-CheckHub confirmed that Vice President Kashim Shettima officially earns about ₦12.1 million annually (roughly ₦1 million monthly) in salary and allowances, according to documents obtained from the RMAFC through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.

The report noted that the review of salary structures for political and public office holders had been attempted several times since the 2008 Amendment Act, but no new framework has been formally approved.

According to the report, in 2000, the RMAFC proposed a new remuneration package that was later formalised through the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances) Act, 2002. A further review in 2007 resulted in the Amendment Act of 2008, which still serves as the legal framework governing official salaries.

However, in 2009 and 2015, multiple attempts were made to review the remuneration packages for political and public officer holders.

In 2009, a downward review was proposed due to declining national earnings, but it was not passed into law. Similarly, the 2015 review was not endorsed by the Presidency or National Assembly.

In June 2023, RMAFC proposed a 114 per cent salary increase for the president, vice president, governors, lawmakers, and judicial officers, effective from January 1, 2023, but it was never endorsed by the National Assembly or signed into law.

Revenue-sharing formula under review – Shehu

In a similar development, Shehu announced that RMAFC had commenced a review of Nigeria’s revenue allocation formula, which determines how funds from the federation account are shared among federal, state, and local governments.

According to him, the current formula, introduced in 1992, allocates 52.68 per cent to the Federal Government, 26.72 per cent to states, and 20.60 per cent to local governments.

He also noted that an additional 4.18 per cent is set aside for special funds, including one per cent each for the Federal Capital Territory and ecological fund, 1.68 per cent for the natural resources development fund, and 0.5 per cent for stabilisation.

Shehu said the review was necessary to reflect new socio-economic realities and the expanded responsibilities of state governments following recent constitutional amendments.

“In line with this constitutional responsibility and in response to the evolving socio-economic, political and fiscal realities of our nation, the commission has resolved to initiate the process of reviewing the revenue allocation formula to reflect emerging socio-economic realities,” Shehu said.