RMAFC Concludes Review of Pay Package for Political and Public Office Holders

By Benson Daniel

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission has concluded its review of the remuneration package for political and public office holders and forwarded its recommendations to President Bola Tinubu for consideration.

The development follows months of consultations and assessment by the commission as it reviewed the salaries, allowances and other benefits applicable to political and public office holders.

RMAFC Chairman, Dr Mohammed Bello Shehu, disclosed that the exercise had been concluded while receiving members of the Council of Retired Permanent Secretaries during a courtesy visit to the commission.

According to the commission, several of the issues raised by the retired permanent secretaries were considered during the review and reflected in the recommendations submitted to the President.

The review is part of RMAFC’s constitutional responsibility to determine appropriate remuneration for political, public and judicial office holders.

The commission’s work comes amid renewed public debate over the cost of governance, the compensation of public officials and the need to ensure that remuneration reflects prevailing economic realities.

RMAFC has maintained that requests for adjustments to the remuneration of public and political office holders must be considered within a framework that promotes fairness and takes account of prevailing economic conditions.

The commission’s chairman had earlier said that the review process was intended to ensure that the remuneration structure remained responsive to changing realities.

The recommendations submitted to the President will now require consideration before any proposed changes can take effect. The conclusion of the exercise does not therefore automatically mean that new salaries or allowances have been approved.

The development is separate from RMAFC’s broader review of Nigeria’s revenue allocation formula, which concerns how federally collected revenue is distributed among the Federal Government, states and local governments. That wider revenue allocation review has involved a nationwide data verification exercise aimed at updating the indices used in revenue sharing.

The distinction is important because both exercises are being undertaken by the same commission but address different aspects of Nigeria’s public finance system.

For political and public office holders, any eventual adjustment could affect the structure of salaries, allowances and other benefits attached to their offices.

For the wider public, the review is likely to attract attention because of its potential implications for government expenditure and the broader debate over the cost of running public institutions.

RMAFC is expected to continue engaging relevant stakeholders as the recommendations undergo the necessary consideration and approval process.

The outcome will ultimately depend on the decisions taken on the commission’s recommendations and any subsequent implementation arrangements approved by the appropriate authorities.