The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly condemned the proposed salary increase for political office holders by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), calling the move “insensitive, unjust, and inequitable.”
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, issued a statement on Sunday in Abuja warning that the proposal could trigger widespread public outrage, likening its potential impact to a “tsunami.”
According to Ajaero, the decision to increase political salaries amid widespread economic hardship reflects deep insensitivity to the plight of ordinary Nigerians.
“This move will only widen the already alarming gap between civil servants and political office holders. It risks deepening poverty for millions of Nigerians who are already classified as multidimensionally poor,” he said.
Criticism of RMAFC’s Justification
Ajaero dismissed RMAFC’s justification for the pay raise, noting that it ignores the extensive perks and unofficial benefits political office holders already enjoy. He described the rationale as weak and detached from the harsh economic realities faced by the majority of Nigerians.
“This proposal comes at a time when promotions and salary increases for public sector workers are frozen, and the minimum wage remains at N70,000,” Ajaero added.
“In previous reviews, while civil servants received meagre increases of less than 50%, political office holders enjoyed over 800% increments.”
He also highlighted the disparity in pay structures across the country, stating that while civil servants’ salaries vary by state, political office holders receive uniform pay regardless of region — a councillor in Yobe earns the same as one in Rivers.
“While we support fair remuneration, it must be across the board. Selectively increasing salaries for the political elite is discriminatory and violates the principle of equity,” he said.
The NLC demanded that the full earnings of political office holders and the benchmarks used for the proposed review be publicly disclosed, urging RMAFC to suspend the review immediately to avoid a national crisis.
SERAP Joins the Call: Urges Tinubu to Halt “Unlawful” Pay Raise
Echoing the NLC’s concerns, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to instruct the RMAFC to suspend what it described as an “unlawful and unconstitutional” salary increase for top political figures including the president, vice-president, governors, and lawmakers.
In a letter dated August 23, 2025, signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the group urged the president to:
• Reject the proposed pay rise
• Encourage other government officials to do the same
• Direct the Attorney General of the Federation to enforce an earlier court judgment mandating a reduction in lawmakers’ salaries
SERAP noted that Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor of the Federal High Court, in a 2021 ruling, had ordered the RMAFC to cut the salaries and allowances of National Assembly members to reflect the nation’s economic realities — a judgment the commission has allegedly ignored.
“The RMAFC has no unlimited authority to increase the salaries of political office holders. Such actions contradict Nigeria’s constitutional obligations and violate citizens’ socio-economic rights,” SERAP stated.
The organisation argued that raising salaries for the political class amid widespread poverty, failing infrastructure, and non-payment of workers’ salaries in many states is unjustifiable.
“This is a time when over 133 million Nigerians live in poverty, public services are crumbling, and the cost of living is unbearable. It is immoral and unconstitutional to further burden the nation by increasing the salaries of a privileged few,” the letter added.
Calls for Fiscal Equity and Public Interest
SERAP emphasised that RMAFC must balance the interests of political office holders with those of ordinary Nigerians, especially the poor and vulnerable. The organisation called for an immediate halt to the salary review and threatened legal action should the government fail to act within seven days.
While supporting better pay for underpaid sectors like the judiciary, SERAP insisted that the same consideration should not be extended arbitrarily to politicians.
“True representative democracy cannot exist where lawmakers and executives receive bloated salaries while citizens face worsening living conditions,” SERAP warned.
The RMAFC chairman, Mohammed Bello, recently defended the proposed increase, claiming that the current salaries are “paltry” and that the adjustments are “fair, realistic, and aligned with current socio-economic realities.” He also noted that the last full review of the allocation formula was in 1992.
However, critics argue that the Commission’s actions serve political interests rather than the public good.
“Instead of prioritising cost-cutting and fiscal prudence, RMAFC is entrenching inequality,” SERAP concluded.
