The debate over Nigeria’s political pay structure has intensified as the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) confirmed plans to review the salaries of political office holders, insisting that current figures are “unrealistic and outdated” given the scope of national responsibilities.
At a press conference in Abuja, RMAFC Chairman Mohammed Shehu described the monthly pay for the country’s top officials as inadequate. He revealed that President Bola Tinubu earns N1.5 million monthly, while ministers receive less than N1 million — salaries that have remained unchanged since 2008.
“You are paying the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria N1.5m a month, with a population of over 200 million people. Everybody believes that it is a joke,” Shehu said.
He continued: “You cannot pay a minister less than N1m per month since 2008 and expect him to put in his best without necessarily being involved in some other things. You pay either a CBN governor or the DG ten times more than you pay the President. That is just not right. Or you pay him twenty times higher than the Attorney-General of the Federation. That is absolutely not right.”
The commission, however, clarified that its constitutional mandate only covers salaries of political, legislative, and judicial office holders, not civil servants or general wage workers.
okay.ng reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) swiftly condemned the proposal, warning that the move ignored deepening inequality and failed to address the hidden perks of office that push actual political pay far beyond official figures.
An NLC official who requested anonymity stated: “The President’s salary may be about N1.5m a month, but when allowances are added, the total package can exceed N100 million. Allowances for medical care, housing, digital services, internet access, security, travel, and even COVID-related expenses are all buried in the system.”
The union accused politicians of enjoying luxury while ordinary Nigerians struggle with the minimum wage and rising living costs. Professors reportedly earn less than N400,000, while lawmakers allegedly pocket as much as N30m monthly.
Meanwhile, Shehu also disclosed that RMAFC had opened consultations to revise Nigeria’s long-standing revenue-sharing formula, last reviewed in 1992. The chairman argued that a new model was necessary to strengthen state-level financial independence and reduce overreliance on the federal government.
Experts like Professor Uche Uwaleke, a finance and capital markets scholar, suggested that any increased allocations to states should be ring-fenced for infrastructure such as power and railways, while also pushing for adjustments in how funds are distributed among states, factoring in health and education efforts.
With inflation still burdening households despite slight easing — 21.88% in July 2025 — the battle lines over political pay versus citizen welfare appear sharper than ever.
