David Akachukwu
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The Federal Government of Nigeria is currently weighing the possibility of increasing the salaries of political office holders, citing concerns that their present earnings are outdated and no longer sufficient.
This was revealed by Mohammed Shehu, Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), during a press conference held in Abuja on Monday.
Shehu highlighted that President Bola Tinubu currently receives a monthly salary of N1.5 million, while federal ministers earn below N1 million. According to him, these salaries have not been revised since 2008.
“You are paying the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria N1.5 million a month, with a population of over 200 million people. Everybody believes that it is a joke,” he remarked.
He also criticized the significant gap in earnings between political office holders and heads of various federal agencies, pointing out that certain agency heads receive salaries up to 20 times higher than those of ministers or even the Attorney-General.
The proposal has, however, reignited criticism amid a backdrop of economic hardship, with many Nigerians grappling with inflation and widespread poverty. Workers across sectors continue to advocate for a realistic living wage, raising concerns over the timing and fairness of the potential salary review.
Many commentators see this as another flashpoint in the ongoing debate over governance, transparency, and public trust in Nigeria’s leadership.
Although the federal government has approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 per month, implementation remains inconsistent across states, particularly affecting local government employees and primary school teachers.
Back in 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that over 133 million Nigerians were living below the poverty line — amounting to roughly 63% of the country’s population.
That same report highlighted significant deficiencies in access to basic needs such as healthcare, food, sanitation, and housing. Poverty remains more pronounced in rural communities, where 72% of the population are impoverished, compared to 42% in urban regions.
Also in 2022, university staff, including academic and non-academic unions, embarked on an eight-month-long strike to demand better remuneration and increased investment in higher education. Despite the prolonged action, findings indicate that little progress has been made in improving university funding or staff welfare.
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Reacting to the proposed increase in political salaries, Professor Chidiebere Nwachukwu, a senior lecturer at the University of Nigeria, criticized the initiative, calling it ill-advised.
Nigeria exists to care for greedy politicians – Don
“I don’t think I will react differently to whatever other Nigerians are saying about it. The politicians in Nigeria…it’s like Nigeria exists to care for the greedy politicians while the masses are being ignored. So those who do the bulk of the work are ignored they are paid peanuts,” he said.
Nwachukwu added: “I know the kind of debate that went into even increasing the minimum wage a few months ago, and here we are.
“Nigerians already are crying out against the kind of money that the politicians allocated to themselves in the name of wages and other allowances. And the civil servants who go to the same market as these overfed politicians are ignored.
“We know how much is paid in Nigeria as minimum wage. I am in the academia, I know how much lecturers are paid. I know how much teachers are paid across the globe. And nobody is considering that.
“That’s where they should pay attention, not all these overpaid politicians, because they’re already taking a good chunk of our national budget, and there is no justification for what they want to do, none whatsoever.”
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He warned that neglecting workers while prioritising politicians could spark unrest.
“The President has access to a lot of funds. He’s entitled to so many allowances that may even be above his monthly salary. I do not think he needs more.
“The people that need an increase in their salaries are those being ignored, so that we do not create a situation where one day we will face the revenge of the masses, when the masses will revolt against the ruling class.
“We are getting closer to that point, and it is destroying Nigeria. Even the civil service is being destroyed because people are not motivated to give their best,” Nwachukwu said.
He added that Nigerians have lost faith in government promises: “In the past 10 years, we have not had a government that kept any promise at all.
“Nigerians do not rejoice when government officials make promises anymore.
“For many years, we’ve always been asked to be patient, to hope that things will get better, but things have always gotten worse. They don’t take advice. They do whatever seems good to them. They are busy thinking of the next election and not how to fix this nation.”
Wrong priorities – Economist
Dr. Samson Simon, an economist with ARKK Economics and Data Limited, also faulted the proposal, insisting that political office holders were already among the best-compensated in the country.
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He stressed that lawmakers in particular are already earning far above global averages.
“I don’t think it’s reasonable in the sense that if you are looking at the compensation, the emoluments that political office holders get, sometimes not necessarily the basic salary, other means of compensation have largely kept pace with inflation and devaluation.
“I feel they are focusing on the wrong people. The classroom teacher, the college professor, the nurse in the hospital, the policeman, and the soldier fighting insurgents are those who deserve higher pay that reflects current realities, not politicians,” Simon said.
“For a federal lawmaker, senator, you’re talking about something in the region of N29 million on a monthly basis.
“What actually comes to him is in the region of N30 million a month. If you change it to dollars, that’s about $20,000 monthly.
“In a year, that comes to around $240,000. How many lawmakers in the world, in the richest countries, collect $240,000?” He queried.
According to him, such disparities show that Nigeria is “not setting its priorities right,” adding that it only attracts people into politics for money rather than service.
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Simon continued: “Why do you pay a primary school teacher a tiny fraction of that and expect results? It doesn’t make sense to prioritise the compensation of political office holders while civil servants suffer and struggle to survive.
“Any review of compensation should reflect the cost of living for all Nigerians, not just politicians. Advertising the welfare of politicians ahead of other Nigerians is simply wrong priority.”
It’s a deception – Legal expert
The President of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), Olu Omotayo, described the proposal as deceptive.
Omotayo added that public trust in leadership had eroded because leaders live “entirely at the expense of government” while the masses are left to struggle.
“It’s just a deception because most public officers in this country are not living based on their salary. All those entitlements, everything is on government expense.
“If they are traveling outside the country, there’s a travel allowance. And within the country, they get traveling allowance too.
“So salaries are not even the issue. The issue is how to cut the expenditure and allowances. A government officer will be going outside the country and you will see the amount of money that will be earmarked for such travel. Those are the loopholes the government is supposed to block, not deceiving us with salary increases,” he said.
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