A storm of outrage is sweeping across Nigeria as news breaks of a proposal by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to raise the salaries of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, state governors, ministers, and other political office holders. At a time when millions of citizens are battling soaring food prices, fuel hikes, and crippling poverty, the announcement has struck a raw nerve.
Labour Cries Foul
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), already locked in constant disputes with government over wages and welfare, wasted no time in condemning the plan. In a scathing statement, the NLC described the proposed hike as “insensitive, inequitable, and provocative,” warning that it would only deepen poverty and widen the already scandalous gap between the ruling elite and the suffering masses.
“Instead of prioritizing hunger, unemployment, and the plight of ordinary workers, the political class is shamelessly scheming for fatter paychecks,” an NLC official lamented. “This is not governance—it is greed.”
The labour body has hinted that it will not rule out industrial action should the government attempt to force the proposal through, setting the stage for yet another confrontation between state power and organized labour.
Atiku’s Camp Sounds the Alarm
From the political opposition, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s camp called the salary review “wasteful, reckless, and anti-people.” They argued that in a country where the minimum wage remains a paltry ₦30,000—a figure many governors are unwilling to pay—it is indefensible for politicians at the top to contemplate enriching themselves further.
“How do you explain to a mother who cannot afford food for her children that the same government asking her to tighten her belt is busy inflating salaries for those in power?” one of Atiku’s aides asked pointedly.
Civil Society Joins the Fight
Activists and watchdog groups are also fuming. Notably, human rights lawyer Nkereuwem Akpan urged the RMAFC to focus on trimming the bloated allowances of lawmakers rather than padding the pockets of executives. “Nigeria does not have a revenue problem—it has a spending problem,” she argued. “Billions disappear yearly into estacodes, wardrobe allowances, and frivolous perks. That is where the axe should fall, not on the empty stomachs of ordinary Nigerians.”
Other civil society voices warned that the proposal could ignite public anger similar to the #EndSARS protests if left unchecked.
An Economy on Life Support
The timing of the proposed salary increase could not be worse. Since President Tinubu removed fuel subsidies on his first day in office, petrol prices have more than tripled, cascading into higher transport fares, skyrocketing food costs, and general inflation. The naira remains volatile against the dollar, businesses are folding under unbearable costs, and unemployment—particularly among the youth—is exploding.
Against this backdrop, the political class seeking to raise its own pay has been described by many as an “obscene insult” to Nigerians who are tightening their belts just to survive.
The Trust Deficit
Beyond economics, the proposal poses a deeper threat: public trust in governance. Nigerians already view politics as a cash-and-carry affair where the elite enrich themselves at the expense of the poor. Endorsing higher salaries for politicians while hospitals lack drugs, schools lack teachers, and roads remain death traps only reinforces that perception.
The symbolism is devastating. It paints the government as self-serving, aloof, and indifferent to the cries of its people.
What Nigerians Are Asking
The question reverberating across the country is simple yet damning: Why should politicians who already enjoy obscene allowances, free cars, lavish security, subsidized housing, and endless perks, deserve more money—while the average Nigerian struggles to eat once a day?
Many argue that if RMAFC is genuinely interested in fairness, it should peg the salaries of political leaders to performance benchmarks, or better still, to the minimum wage. Until then, any increase is nothing short of legalized looting.
The Bigger Picture
This is more than a policy blunder—it is a moral crisis. Nigeria sits on a powder keg of discontent. Citizens are disillusioned, hungry, and angry. Instead of showing empathy and sacrifice, the ruling elite is projecting entitlement and greed.
History offers a warning: governments fall not only because of wars and coups, but also when their people lose faith in their moral legitimacy.
Editorial Verdict
The RMAFC’s proposal is not just ill-timed; it is provocative, divisive, and dangerous. It threatens to further alienate a weary citizenry from a government that has barely spent a year in office.
Nigeria does not need higher salaries for politicians. Nigeria needs functional schools, affordable food, working hospitals, better wages for workers, and a leadership that leads by example. If President Tinubu is serious about reforms, he must reject this self-serving proposal outright and demand sacrifice from the political class, not the suffering masses.
Until then, the message is clear: the government appears more interested in feeding itself than feeding its people.