‘Insensitive to Nigerians’ hardship’, NNPP rejects planned pay rise for President, others

By Adeola Badru

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has kicked against the proposal to increase salaries for political office holders, describing it as insensitive and ill-timed given the economic hardship currently faced by most Nigerians.

In a statement on Wednesday, the party’s South-West leader, Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, criticised the reported plan by the Federal Government to raise the earnings of the President, Vice President, ministers and others, through the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

Ajadi said millions of Nigerians are already struggling to survive amid soaring inflation and unemployment, stressing that political leaders should be making sacrifices, not demanding pay rises.

“It is insensitive to increase political office holders’ salaries when workers are battling for a living wage. True leaders tighten their belts before asking citizens to make sacrifices,” Ajadi stated.

RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, had earlier disclosed that the salaries of political office holders — last reviewed in 2008 — were outdated, giving examples such as the President earning N1.5 million monthly and ministers earning under N1 million.

Ajadi, however, argued that reducing the cost of governance was more urgent than increasing it, saying: “This reeks of tone-deafness and greed. In other countries facing crisis, leaders cut their own pay to show solidarity with citizens.”

He cited examples from New Zealand, Ireland and Greece, where government officials took pay cuts during national hardship, urging Nigeria’s leadership to emulate such sacrifice.

“The RMAFC must immediately abandon this self-serving scheme. What the nation requires today is fiscal discipline, not politicians feeding fat while citizens suffer,” the NNPP chieftain added.

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