Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr Mohammed Bello, provided insights into the salaries of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, members of the National Assembly, and judicial officers during an interactive session held at the request of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, chaired by Hon. James Abiodun Faleke.
He dispelled the notion that top political officeholders earn exorbitant salaries.
Dr. Bello affirmed that the Commission has completed its work on the planned review of the remunerations of political and judicial officers at all levels.
He explained the reasons for the delay in presenting the recommended remunerations for the incumbent president, state governors, members of the 10th session of the National Assembly/State Houses of Assembly, and judicial officers nationwide.
He stated, “This is a very contentious issue now. We all know the prevailing climate in the nation. We have indeed finalised this review, but the previous administration did not have sufficient time to transmit it to the National Assembly.
“We decided not to present it to the current administration now due to the prevailing climate in the country.
We will allow Mr President and his team to address other workers’ salaries and address all the current agitations.
I’m sure you’ve seen the Minister of Labour and Chief of Staff working on this. After the tension has subsided and the economy improves, the Commission will revisit this issue.
“When the climate is right, the Commission will present the report to you, the stakeholders, and Mr. President because it’s the right thing to do.
Some of you may have seen me on TV facing the passion of Nigerians, especially regarding the legislators’ alleged jumbo salaries. As far as we are concerned, there are no jumbo salaries anywhere.
“The salary of Mr. President is below N1.5 million, and the salaries of governors are similar, not to mention judges of the Supreme Court and others. When the time is right, we will review this issue.”
In his opening remarks, Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, urged the Commission to come up with innovative ideas to boost revenue for the Federation.
He also called on the Commission to provide necessary information about institutions that owe the Federation to facilitate legislative action and ensure compliance.
Hon. Faleke stated, “If you have issues with a sister agency and no reference was made to us, your next step was to take them to EFCC, as you mentioned.
If an agency owes you N100 billion, it means it owes the Federation. It’s not your personal matter. So, the account is there, you issue a statement, and we will write to the Accountant General to block the account until we agree on the payment.
“In the past, agencies of government spent revenue that should have gone to the government coffers. When you ask them to refund the money, they give them a timeframe to do so.
This practise is like ‘Won nfowo Abu se Abu l’alejo,’ meaning ‘Robbing Peter to pay Paul.’ We don’t accept that. We need all the details to work together.
“I concur with you on solid mineral revenue. It’s essential for us in an area that requires reorganisation to ensure Nigeria begins to benefit.
I’m also interested in customs. If you received $974 million, it implies that companies are taking goods from the ports without paying what is required. These are the types of loopholes that need to be addressed.”
Hon. Faleke emphasised the need to block such loopholes and improve revenue collection.
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