Why we recommended 114% salary increase for political office holders – RMAFC

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Why we recommended 114% salary increase for political office holders – RMAFC

The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has explained why the commission recommended that the basic salary of public office holders be increased by 114 per cent.

A federal commissioner of the RMAFC, Hassan Mohammed Usman, noted that the remuneration review had been due since 2007, but has not been done for some reasons.

Usman stated this while speaking in an interview on Arise Television on Thursday.

He stated, “This is to say that, for 15 years, the salaries for the political, judicial and public office holders have not been reviewed.”

According to Usman, the review was premised on the fact that the consumer price index, from the year 2008 to 2022, has increased scientifically by 371 per cent.

The RMAFC federal commissioner said, “We engaged in public hearings, we went to all geopolitical zones, we had consultations with the stakeholders, the government and the private sector, hearing and harnessing views on what increment within these years.

“These indices, the public hearing, which is subjective, and then the scientific one, the consumer price index, which is objective were combined, aggregated and it ran up to over 200 per cent.

“So, based on that, the view of the economic situation in the country, we aggregated the two and we arrived at 114 per cent,” he said.

Recall that the commission had urged the 36 states’ Houses of Assembly to hasten efforts on amendment of relevant laws to give room for upward review of remuneration packages for political, judicial and public officers.

The RMAFC Chairman, Muhammadu Shehu, represented by a federal commissioner, Rakiya Tanko-Ayuba, made the call at the presentation of reports of the reviewed remuneration package to Kebbi State governor, Dr Nasir Idris, on Tuesday in Birnin Kebbi.

He said the implementation of the reviewed remuneration packages was effective from January 1, 2023, adding that the move was in accordance with the provision of paragraph 32(d) of part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 constitution of the federal government (as amended).

He said the last remuneration review was conducted in 2007, noting that it culminated in the “certain political, public and judicial office holders (salaries and allowances, etc) (Amendment) Act, 2008.”

Shehu said, “It empowers the revenue mobilisation, allocation and fiscal commission to determine the remuneration appropriate for political office holders, including the president, vice-president, governors, deputy governors, ministers, commissioners, special advisers, legislators and the holders of the offices mentioned in sections 84 and 124 of the constitution of the federal government.

“Sixteen years after the last review, it is imperative that the remuneration packages for the categories of the office holders mentioned in relevant sections of the 1999 constitution (as amended) should be reviewed.

“Pursuant to the above, your excellency may please recall that on Wednesday, 1st February, 2023, the commission held a one-day zonal public hearing on the review of the remuneration package simultaneously in all the six (6) geo-political zones of the country. The aim of the exercise was to harvest inputs/ideas from a broad spectrum of stakeholders.”

He said the commission had objectively and subjectively reviewed the salary packages in the reports, adding that it adheres to the rules of equity and fairness, risk and responsibilities, and national order of precedence among others.