Make The Pay Review Across Board

The news trending in the media space is the disclosure by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) that it has concluded arrangements to start the process of the review of the remuneration of political and public office holders as well as judicial officers in the country.

The chairman of the commission, Mohammed Bello Shehu, claimed that it was part of their duty in line with paragraph 32(D) of part 1 to the Third Schedule of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Justifying this obvious misplacement of priority and rascally legal reference, he further said that the last review was carried out in 2008 and so that makes this planned review long overdue.

For Nigerians who may not know, the President earns N14,058,820 per annum. The Vice President, N12,126,290 per annum. Ministers, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Head of the Civil Service (HoS) chairmen of constitutional bodies, N7,801,640.00 per annum; ministers of state and members of constitutional bodies N7,536,683 per annum; Special advisers including speech writers N7,091.493 per annum.

All these in a country where the minimum wage is N30,000 a month, an amount that cannot buy a bag of rice even if it is paid. In most cases, it is not paid and can and do accumulate for months.

It is noteworthy that these figures are exclusive of allowances such as accommodation, furniture, duty tour, estacode, medicals, severance gratuity, leave and motor vehicle loan and sundry other entitlements.

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In the considered opinion of this newspaper, the capacity of the ruling class in the nation’s political system to be insensitive is becoming increasingly worrisome. In the face of public complaint about the high cost of governance, the outrageous wages and allowances that the political class already take home, Nigerians have just been informed that even those are not enough. That plans are underway to review upwards the humongous amounts taxpayers are forced to spend on those they have the misfortune of inflicting on themselves as leaders.

Talk of bad timing in policy action, this administration stands to be immensely decorated. Economic experts have consistently been raising the alarm that the cost-of-living index is not positive with a runaway inflationary trend that has seen prices of all goods and services hitting the roof and, in most cases, out of the reach of ordinary Nigerians.

For months now, this country has been locked down by energy crisis. Airlines, local and international, are shutting down as a result of the high cost of aviation fuel, motorists spend days in queues waiting to buy unavailable premium motor spirit (PMS) at a price that is criminal, small scale industries and even the big ones in the real sector are groaning under the weight of unbearable cost of diesel in the absence of a reliable public sector power source, the education sector is comatose not to mention the other sectors like health and the government is convinced that this is the best time to begin to think of reviewing upwards the salaries and allowances of the parasites in public office.

Presently, the nation is grounded by a natural disaster caused by flood. Hundreds of citizens are dead with millions more rendered homeless as a result of the inability of the government to plan ahead to avoid the situation that is preventable. Before it, insecurity has made and is still making life and living in the country a nightmare. The activities of bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and the fear of them hold the nation in a vice-like grip with no help in sight.  In the prevailing circumstance, the only pressing issue is the welfare of the ruling class who needs more money to spend.

It is on record that most of the borrowings that have been going on and which is estimated by this same government and its relevant agencies to be in excess of $31 billion, are channeled towards recurrent expenditure (read paying salaries of and servicing public officers).

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), that toothless bulldog that has, over the years, rendered itself unreliable and irredeemably useless in matters relating to the welfare of members, is warning the government against instigating avoidable crisis. The Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch is convinced that if the plan sails through, it will amount to economic irresponsibility.

However, this government is known not to be a respecter of public opinion especially if it has made up its mind and, that, regardless of the inadvisability of the subject matter.

Already, the nation is preparing for a general election due in a few months’ time. Is this planned review of salaries of public officers a ploy to generate crisis that will scuttle the election and create a situation that will require an extension of this administration through a government of national unity as is being postulated in some quarters. We sincerely hope not.

We are of the view that if the government wants to go ahead with this review, for it to be acceptable, it must be carried out across board. That is to say, every Nigerian must expect to benefit from it. Otherwise, RMAFC must find something else to do and save this country needless headache.