By Atoyebi Nike
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly opposed plans by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to increase salaries for political office holders, describing the proposal as “insensitive, unjust, and inequitable.”
In a statement issued on Sunday, NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero said the planned upward review would worsen the gap between politicians and civil servants, most of whom remain under wage freezes despite rising living costs.
“We are outraged by the decision of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to embark on a comprehensive upward review of the remuneration packages of political office holders across the country. The move is insensitive, unjust, inequitable and will only succeed in deepening the growing inequality between civil servants and political office holders. It will equally deepen poverty among the generality of Nigerians, majority of whom have not only been adjudged to be multi-dimensionally poor, live miserably poor,” Ajaero said.
He condemned the justification offered by RMAFC Chairman Mohammed Usman as “puerile,” noting that politicians already benefit from extensive allowances and perks unavailable to civil servants.
According to the NLC, political office holders have seen pay increases of more than 800 percent over the years, compared to about 50 percent for civil servants. It further highlighted that political salaries remain uniform nationwide, unlike civil service pay, which reflects regional differences in cost of living.
Ajaero demanded transparency in the process, insisting: “The current earnings of all political office holders should be made public; the benchmark for the proposed review should equally be made public; RMAFC should put on hold this exercise before it triggers a tsunami.”
The union called on the federal government to ensure that remuneration policies remain fair, constitutional, and guided by the principle that public service is about sacrifice, not wealth accumulation.
The RMAFC had recently announced plans to review remuneration packages for political and public office holders across Nigeria, sparking public debate and labour resistance.
