…Labour: It is Insensitive, Unjust
…SERAP Issues Seven-Day Ultimatum to Cancel Plan
By Franklin Adole
The announcement that the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) is considering a salary hike for President Bola Tinubu, governors, lawmakers, and other political officeholders has sparked outrage across the country, with labour and civil society groups warning that the move could inflame social unrest.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) condemned the proposal in strong terms, describing it as “insensitive, unjust, inequitable, and a direct threat to social stability.” NLC President Joe Ajaero said in a statement that millions of Nigerians are being pushed deeper into poverty while their leaders now seek to further enrich themselves.
“We are outraged,” Ajaero declared, stressing that workers still battle with a grossly inadequate N70,000 minimum wage and crippling inflation. He noted that while civil servants’ wages have barely shifted in years, politicians have seen increases of more than 800% since 2008. “This is nothing short of provocation,” he said.
The NLC insisted that RMAFC must suspend the review immediately, publish the current earnings of all political officeholders, and explain the criteria used for proposing new pay. The union warned that any attempt to push through the increases risked triggering a “national tsunami.”
Civil society has echoed the resistance. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) issued a seven-day ultimatum to Tinubu to block the proposal, threatening legal action if he failed to act. In a letter signed by Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the group labelled the review “patently unlawful and unconstitutional.”
SERAP cited a 2021 Federal High Court judgment ordering a downward review of lawmakers’ salaries to reflect Nigeria’s economic realities, arguing that the commission’s latest plan was a “gross misuse of mandate” that prioritised politicians over the poor.
“The RMAFC is rewarding privilege and ignoring poverty,” SERAP declared, noting that over 133 million Nigerians live in hardship while state governments struggle to pay salaries and pensions.
Both the NLC and SERAP insist that the review, if implemented, would widen inequality, fuel public anger, and destabilise governance. They urged President Tinubu to reject the plan outright and instead redirect attention to improving workers’ welfare, funding public services, and cutting wasteful allowances.