The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has hinted at plans to review the salaries of Nigeria’s political office holders, describing current earnings as “inadequate, unrealistic and outdated” in view of rising responsibilities and economic realities.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, RMAFC Chairman Mohammed Shehu disclosed that President Bola Tinubu currently earns N1.5 million monthly, while ministers receive less than N1 million — figures that have remained unchanged 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 the wide pay gap between political leaders and agency heads was unjustifiable. “You pay either a CBN governor or the DG ten times more than you pay the President. That is just not right,” he added.
But the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) immediately kicked against the proposal, accusing the commission of ignoring deepening inequality and the hidden allowances that already swell politicians’ earnings.
“The President’s salary may be about N1.5m a month, but when allowances are added, the total package can exceed N100m,” a senior NLC official told The PUNCH. “If the government can publish the president’s salary, then it should also publish these allowances, because that is where the true burden lies.”
The union noted that while senators and representatives allegedly earn up to N30m monthly, civil servants survive on a minimum wage of N70,000, and professors earn less than N400,000. It warned that such inequality was eroding the middle class and pushing millions into poverty.
Beyond salaries, Shehu announced that RMAFC had also begun a long-overdue review of the country’s revenue-sharing formula, which has remained unchanged since 1992. The current formula allocates 52.68% of federally collected revenues to the Federal Government, 26.72% to states, and 20.60% to local governments.
Shehu said the new review would be “inclusive, data-driven, and transparent,” with input from the Presidency, National Assembly, governors, ALGON, civil society, and development partners.
Economist and finance professor Uche Uwaleke urged that any additional funds to states should be ring-fenced for infrastructure projects such as power and railways. He also called for reforms in the horizontal allocation formula to reward states’ efforts in education and health rather than relying heavily on population.
While RMAFC argues that improved pay will curb corruption and reflect the burden of governance, labour maintains that the real issue lies in unchecked perks, wasteful spending, and the rising cost of governance at a time Nigerians are battling inflation and hardship.