The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Alhaji Muhammed Shehu, has refuted claims that political office holders in Nigeria receive exorbitant salaries. He made this statement in response to recent public outrage over reports of a proposed 114 percent increase in the salaries of political office holders by the commission.
Shehu clarified that there was no truth to the information regarding a salary increase. He explained that RMAFC is authorized to determine and review the salaries of executive, legislative, and judicial officers, and the last review occurred in 2007. He also mentioned that a court ruling had determined that judges should be paid around N10 million per month.
However, he emphasized that considering the current economic challenges faced by Nigerians, the commission would not consider such a salary increase at this time. Shehu debunked the notion that political office holders receive substantial salaries, stating that the monthly salary of the President is less than N1.5 million, and ministers earn less than one million naira.
Shehu also pointed out that what may be perceived as high earnings by lawmakers are often statutory office running costs. He argued that these costs should be centrally managed by the National Assembly Service Commission rather than being directly handled by individual legislators.
He noted that politicians incur various expenses, including running constituency offices, hiring staff, and addressing the logistical needs of their constituencies, which are funded from the running costs allocated to their offices. Shehu clarified that these funds are not part of their official salaries but are used for constituency-related expenses.
The RMAFC chairman’s comments aimed to dispel misconceptions about the earnings of political office holders in Nigeria, particularly legislators and ministers. He stressed the need for greater transparency in the allocation and use of funds designated for office running costs.