The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly criticised the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) over its proposal to increase the salaries of political office holders, describing the move as “insensitive, unjust, and inequitable.”
RMAFC chairman, Mohammed Shehu, recently disclosed that President Bola Tinubu earns about ₦1.5 million monthly, while ministers take home less than ₦1 million — figures he said have remained unchanged since 2008 and should be reviewed.
But NLC President, Joe Ajaero, faulted the proposal, warning that raising political salaries at a time when workers are facing economic hardship would only widen the gap between leaders and citizens.
“The move is insensitive and will deepen the growing inequality between civil servants and political office holders. It will also worsen poverty among millions of Nigerians already living under multidimensional deprivation,” Ajaero said in a statement on Sunday.
He demanded that the government disclose the current earnings of all political office holders, as well as the benchmarks guiding the proposed review.
“RMAFC should suspend this exercise before it triggers a tsunami,” he cautioned.
The labour leader also recalled that while civil servants’ wage adjustments have often been modest and tied to resource availability, political office holders have historically enjoyed massive increments. He cited a previous review where workers received less than a 50% increase, while politicians reportedly secured over 800%.
Ajaero further noted that civil servants across states operate under varied pay structures, unlike politicians whose salaries remain uniform nationwide. According to him, this disparity is discriminatory and undermines the principles of fairness and equity.
While acknowledging the need for fair pay, the NLC insisted that remuneration should be applied equitably across the board rather than skewed in favour of politicians.
