‘Increase of political office holders’ salaries will trigger Tsunami’, NLC warns RMAFC

By Joan Nwagwu

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described the move by Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission(RMAFC) to increase salary of political office holders as an insensitive, unjust, inequitable move that will only succeed in deepening the growing inequality between civil servants and political office holders.

“It will equally deepen poverty among the generality of Nigerians majority of whom have not only been adjudged to be multi-dimensionally poor, live miserably poor,” Joe Ajaero, NLC President said in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.

He called on RMAFC to put on hold the exercise before it triggers a tsunami in the country.

While describing the proposed increase of salaries for political office holders as insensitive and inequitable, Ajaero described the justification for it by the commission as weak.

Ajaero said that the justification ignores huge perks and advantages political office holders already enjoy.

The NLC president said that this was aside from other unwritten and unmentionable advantages that set them apart from the other disadvantaged citizenry.

“This exercise is coming at a time of promotion and salary freeze in most public subsectors and the continued imposition and operation of N70,000 minimum wage.

“This is because there are no resources to pay higher in spite of the rising tariffs and economic hardship,” he said.

Ajaero recalled previous wage reviews, civil servants received less than 50 per cent, while political office holders saw increases exceeding 800 per cent.

According to him, we equally note with dismay that whereas states operate different pay structures for civil servants, the pay structures of political office holders are the same across the country.

“This explains why a councillor in Yobe earns same salary as a councillor in Rivers.

“While we recognise the need for good remuneration packages, they should be across board and equitable and not done on the basis of discrimination,” he said.

According to him, that runs contrary to the letter and spirit of our constitution

He, therefore, demanded that the current earnings of all political office holders should be made public.

The president said that the benchmark for the proposed review should equally be made public.

(NAN)