NNPP chieftain faults proposed salary increase for political office holders

A South-West chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has criticised the Federal Government’s plan to increase the salaries of political office holders, including the President, Vice President, ministers, and others, describing the move as “needless, insensitive, and morally bankrupt” in light of Nigeria’s current economic hardship.

Ajadi noted that many Nigerians are groaning under unprecedented economic hardship, stressing that what is expected of political leaders at this time is sacrifice, not self-enrichment.

His reaction follows a statement by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which hinted at plans for an upward review of salaries for political office holders, describing current earnings as inadequate, outdated, and unrealistic given rising responsibilities and economic challenges.

During 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. 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,” Shehu said. “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 the head of an agency twenty times higher than the Attorney-General of the Federation. That is absolutely not right.”

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But Ajadi, in a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday, faulted the proposal, arguing that in a time of economic crisis, a progressive government should reduce the cost of governance, not inflate it.

He described the planned increment as insensitive, especially when Nigerian workers have been struggling for a living wage without a meaningful response from government.

“The proposed increase in salaries of the President, Vice President, and other political office holders at this time of economic hardship is insensitive to the plight of ordinary Nigerians,” he said.

“The current workers’ minimum wage is not enough to provide a means of livelihood for any worker. Inflation is biting harder on Nigerians. Yet, political office holders are flaunting their riches openly with utter disregard for the suffering masses. To now increase their salaries will not augur well for our country.”

Ajadi argued that true leadership requires sacrifice, noting that in many countries experiencing economic crises, political leaders reduced their own earnings as a show of solidarity with citizens.

“In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her cabinet reduced their pay by 20 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2008 financial crisis, Ireland slashed ministerial and parliamentary salaries by as much as 30 per cent. In the midst of Greece’s sovereign debt crisis, ministers and parliamentarians also took pay cuts in solidarity with citizens.

“True leaders tighten their belts first before asking citizens to bear the burden of reform. For Nigeria’s political class to even consider ‘jumbo salaries’ at a time of rising inflation, subsidy removal, unemployment, and worsening poverty is unconscionable.

“RMAFC must immediately drop this self-serving scheme. What the nation requires today is fiscal discipline and leadership by sacrifice — not political overlords fattening themselves while citizens starve,” Ajadi declared.

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