The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to stop the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) from implementing a proposed pay rise for political office holders, warning it violates both Nigeria’s Constitution and international human rights obligations.
In a statement issued on Sunday, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, said the planned upward review of salaries for the president, vice-president, governors, deputies, and lawmakers comes at a time when millions of Nigerians are living in grim conditions worsened by deteriorating public services.
“Access to pipe-borne water and affordable health care remains a dream, while electricity supply is epileptic and unreliable in an era where globalization has made such services cheap and widely available,” the group lamented.
It argued that the proposed salary increase for public office holders contradicts the provisions of Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) on the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, as well as Chapter 4, which guarantees fundamental rights, including the right to equality and non-discrimination.
“Directing the RMAFC to suspend the imminent pay rise for political office holders will be entirely consistent with your constitutional oath of office and your oft-expressed commitment to ensure a better society and collective sacrifices from all Nigerians, as you pledged in your inauguration speech,” the statement noted.
SERAP also reminded Mr Tinubu of his promise to Nigerians he would impartially govern the country “according to the Constitution and the rule of law,” urging him to show leadership at a time when most citizens are struggling with rising poverty and inflation.”
It referenced that a 2021 judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the RMAFC to review downward the salaries and allowances of members of the National Assembly to reflect economic realities. The judgment followed consolidated suits filed by concerned citizens and groups including SERAP, BudgIT, Enough is Enough (EiE), and others.
The organization, however, expressed support for an upward review of judges’ salaries and conditions of service, stressing that addressing their poor welfare is essential to improving access to justice, particularly for victims of corruption and human rights violations.