No plan to increase salaries of political office holders — Presidency

…Says report aimed to create ill-will, slow down Tinubu’s massive goodwill

As stakeholders frown at the high cost of running governance in the Country, particularly with the huge juicy pay of political office holders, the Presidency has discredited reports of a recent increase in their pay, saying President Bola Tinubu has not approved any pay rise for elected public office holders as claimed.

This was according to a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Dele Alake.

“We state without any equivocation that President Bola Tinubu has not approved any salary increase, and no such proposal has been brought before him for consideration,” he said in the statement titled ‘No presidential approval for salary increase for political office holders and judicial officers.’

The statement trailed reports that the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) had approved a 114 per cent increase in the salaries of the President, Vice President, elected Federal and State political office holders and judicial officers.

“While we recognise that it is within the constitutional remit of the RMAFC to propose and fix salaries and allowances of political office holders and Judicial Officers, such cannot come to effect until it has equally been considered and approved by the President,” Alake noted.

The Presidency which said RMAFC had debunked the story making the rounds alleged that the narrative was “contrived to create ill-will for the new administration, slow down the upward momentum and massive goodwill the Tinubu-led administration is currently enjoying among Nigerians as a result of its fast-paced, dynamic and progressive policies.”

Therefore, Alake advised that updates on government activities and policy issues that do not emanate from approved official communication channels should be ignored.

Emolument issues have been a major struggle in the Country. There has been outcries over the pay of political office holders with juicy allowances, particularly in comparison to the minute fraction received as take home for civil servants.

The argument has been an ongoing debate with reactions from various labour unions. Low pay struggles have been rife among doctors, lecturers, teachers, among others, under the employment of the government in the Country, a development that has been prevalent with industrial actions against the prevailing structure of payment.

The struggle of the organised labour in 2019 saw the Federal Government approving the implementation of the review of the minimum wage to N30,000 after much struggle, a development that many States in the Federation have continued to default in payment.

Arrears in the payment of workers salary under government employment have also been a major issue of concern over time, though it is unconfirmed if political office holders suffer the same delay.

Recently, the conversation to up the salary scale of workers in the wake of the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, a development that has informed hike in transportation fare and other cost of living, has been revived.

The Federal Government, as declared by President Tinubu, amidst outcries which greeted the removal of subsidy, promised to make provisions for palliatives to cushion the impact of the decision.

The  President following the outcries which trailed the announcement of the removal of subsidy on premium motor spirit (PMS) had directed on Wednesday 07 June, the National Economic Council (NEC) led by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima to begin the process of providing palliatives. Tinubu had given the directive while he met with some major oil marketers led by Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun at the State House in Abuja.

Subsequently, as part of its first deliberations upon inauguration, the NEC, last Thursday, June 15, in Abuja, had said it considered recommendations from the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission to pay N702billion as cost of living allowance to civil servants as part of intervention plans to mitigate the effects of the removal of subsidy on petroleum.

Following the deliberations, the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, had disclosed to State House Correspondents shortly after the inaugural  NEC meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa that NEC received recommendations on the various ways and means to mitigate the impact that the new realities would have on the lives of workers.

He had further disclosed that the intervention includes a recommended sum ranging from N23.5bn to N25bn per month as a petroleum allowance for civil servants. c

“The NEC had received recommendations on the various ways and means that the country can use whatever increases that we have in the revenue to mitigate the impact that this is going to make on the lives of our workers.

“And so they recommended that there should be a consequential adjustment, estimated at N702.92billion as part of the allowances that should be given as petroleum allowance to all workers and as well as a N23 or N25billion monthly offer to cushion the effect on workers,” he had said.

The Governor who also disclosed that the Council received other suggestions to review salaries and wages, had said: “In addition to the palliative, the government looked at all the issues, challenges and problems holistically and set up a small committee of the council to review and come up with a term of reference to organise areas specifically where this palliative can come from and how it will be dispensed to alleviate the problem of workers and other vulnerable groups.”

c Members of the Committee include the Governor of Kebbi State as Chairman; Anambra representing the South-East geopolitical zone; Governor of Benue, North-Central; Governor of Kaduna, North-West; Governor of Cross River, South-South; Oyo, South-West; and the Bauchi State Governor representing the North-East.c c

“Other relevant agencies in the Committee are the Budget Office, representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress and Rukayat El-Rufai. We will sit within two weeks to come up with a recommendation to NEC for a holistic decision that will be taken immediately to alleviate the problem that is being encountered by the removal of the subsidy,” he hinted.