The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has revealed plans to review the salaries of political office holders in Nigeria, describing their current pay as outdated, inadequate, and unrealistic in view of growing responsibilities and economic challenges.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, RMAFC Chairman Mohammed Shehu disclosed that President Bola Tinubu currently earns N1.5 million monthly, while ministers receive less than N1 million — figures 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 added: “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 \[the head of an agency] twenty times higher than the Attorney-General of the Federation. That is absolutely not right.”
However, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has kicked against the proposed salary hike, arguing that it disregards worsening inequality and ignores the hidden perks already enjoyed by political leaders.
Shehu clarified that the commission is constitutionally restricted to determining the salaries of political, judicial, and legislative office holders — not civil servants or public sector workers.
“We are strictly restricted to political office holders, governors, senators, legislators, ministers, DGs, and other people,” he said, stressing the need for realistic remuneration that reflects responsibilities.
“It’s about time that people like you and others should support the commission to come up with reasonable living salaries for ministers, DGs, and the President,” he added.
Beyond salaries, the RMAFC also announced the commencement of a long-overdue review of Nigeria’s vertical revenue-sharing formula. The current arrangement, which has been in place since 1992, allocates 52.68% to the Federal Government, 26.72% to states, and 20.60% to local governments, with 4.18% reserved for special funds.
“In line with this constitutional responsibility and in response to the evolving socio-economic, political and fiscal realities of our nation, the Commission has resolved to initiate the process of reviewing the revenue allocation formula to reflect emerging socio-economic realities,” Shehu explained.
According to him, recent constitutional amendments have expanded state governments’ fiscal burdens, making it essential to re-evaluate the structure of fiscal federalism to foster growth, independence, equity, and sustainability.
Previous efforts to adjust the formula — including a draft report submitted in 2022 under former Chairman Elias Mbam — were never implemented. Similarly, earlier attempts under Presidents Jonathan and Buhari stalled despite widespread calls for reform.
Assuring stakeholders of transparency, Shehu promised that the current review will be “inclusive, data-driven, and transparent,” involving consultations with the Presidency, National Assembly, state governors, ALGON, judiciary, civil society organisations, private sector, and development partners.
He also noted that with a new Act signed into law in April, the Commission now enjoys financial autonomy for the first time, giving it more capacity to deliver on its mandate.
