Pay rise for President, VP, governors, others: SERAP vows to sue Tinubu
By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A Lagos-based human rights and advocacy organisation, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has announced that it will initiate a legal action against President Bola Tinubu in court.
SERAP vows to sue the president for ‘illegally’ increasing his salary and that of Vice President Kashim Shettima by 114 percent.
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The civil society organisation, in a tweet on Wednesday, described the salary increments of state governors and lawmakers as outrageous and unacceptable to the generality of Nigerians.
SERAP wrote: “We’re suing the Tinubu administration over its outrageous and illegal 114 per cent increase in the salaries of the President, Vice President, State governors and lawmakers, while over 133 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty.”
The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) had approved a 114 percent increase in the salaries of elected politicians, including the President, Vice president, governors, lawmakers, judicial and public office holders.
RMAFC had urged the 36 States’ Houses of Assembly to hasten efforts on amendments to relevant laws to give room for upward review of remuneration packages for political, judicial and public officers.
Chairman of the RMAFC, Muhammadu Shehu, represented by a Federal Commissioner, Rakiya Tanko-Ayuba, made the call at the presentation of reports of the reviewed remuneration package to Kebbi State governor, Nasir Idris, on Tuesday in Birnin Kebbi.
RMAFC is saddled with the responsibility of determining the remuneration appropriate for political officeholders including the President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Commissioners, Special Advisers, Legislators and the holders of the offices as mentioned in Sections 84 and 124 of the Nigerian Constitution.
The pay rise for the public officers comes as the Tinubu-led Federal Government continues to urge Nigerians to bear the economic hardship occasioned by the sudden removal of fuel subsidy.