FG Mulls Salary Hike for Tinubu, Lawmakers as Labour Fumes

RYNI News | Blessing Isiuwa
19 August 2025

ABUJA – A political storm is brewing as the Federal Government considers raising the salaries of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, lawmakers, ministers, and other high-ranking office holders. The proposal, tabled by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), has ignited sharp criticism from organised labour and civil society groups.

Announcing the plan at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, described the current remuneration for Nigeria’s political leadership as “outdated, unrealistic, and incapable of reflecting their enormous responsibilities.” He noted that the last review was carried out in 2008, despite mounting inflation and economic pressures over the past decade and a half.

Currently, the President earns about ₦1.5 million monthly, while ministers pocket less than ₦1 million. Shehu lamented that these figures are dwarfed by the pay packages of certain parastatal heads and the Central Bank governor.

“You cannot pay the President of Nigeria ₦1.5m monthly and expect global credibility,” Shehu argued. “Some agency chiefs earn ten times more than the Commander-in-Chief. That distortion must be corrected.”

But labour unions were quick to counter. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) branded the proposal as “tone-deaf” and “insensitive” at a time when ordinary Nigerians are groaning under soaring food prices, fuel costs, and widespread poverty.

An NLC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed the government’s figures as misleading. “The published salaries are just a fraction of what politicians actually take home. With allowances and perks, a President’s package can balloon above ₦100m annually. Why not publish the allowances too?” he asked.

The income gulf between political elites and workers has become a rallying point. While lawmakers are reported to take home as much as ₦30m monthly, the new minimum wage stands at ₦70,000, with university professors earning under ₦400,000. Labour leaders warn that such disparity is not only unjust but dangerous.

“When leadership appears more preoccupied with its own welfare than the people’s hardship, it deepens inequality and fuels unrest,” the NLC source cautioned. “This country cannot withstand endless provocation of the masses.”

RMAFC, however, insists it is simply fulfilling its constitutional duty to review pay for political, judicial, and legislative office holders—not civil servants. Alongside the salary review, the commission is also revisiting Nigeria’s decades-old revenue allocation formula, last adjusted in 1992. The current structure grants the Federal Government 52.68%, states 26.72%, and local governments 20.60%, with 4.18% reserved for special funds.

Shehu promised that the new formula would be “inclusive, evidence-based, and equitable,” while acknowledging that previous attempts under former presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari faltered.

For now, the salary debate underscores the widening chasm between Nigeria’s rulers and the ruled—and whether the government will risk political capital to push it through remains to be seen.

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