The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked President Bola Tinubu to order the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to halt the “unlawful” pay rise for political and public office holders, including the president, vice president, governors, and lawmakers.
SERAP urged him to "reject the imminent pay rise for politicians and encourage your vice-president, governors and their deputies, and lawmakers to do the same."
SERAP also urged him to "direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to ensure full and effective compliance with the judgment of Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor directing the RMAFC to review downward the salaries and allowances of the members of the National Assembly to reflect the economic realities in the country."
In the letter dated August 23, 2025 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: "The RMAFC's constitutional and statutory mandates clearly do not imply the unrestrained powers to increase the salaries of the president, vice-president, governors, their deputies, and lawmakers.
"Suspending the imminent pay rise for political office holders would serve legitimate public interests. When the exercise of RMAFC's constitutional and statutory mandates clashes with Nigerians' fundamental rights, the public interests in upholding these rights ought to prevail."
SERAP lamented that rather than “reviewing downward the salaries of political and public office holders to reflect the current economic challenges in the country, the commission is arbitrarily increasing the salaries for the president, vice-president, governors and their deputies, and lawmakers."
The letter read in part: "The imminent pay rise for political and public office holders in Nigeria, particularly the president, vice-president, governors and their deputies, and lawmakers, is a gross misuse of the RMAFC's constitutional and statutory mandates.
"The RMFAC has neither unrestrained constitutional and statutory mandates nor unbridled discretion to increase the salaries of the president, vice-president, governors and their deputies, and lawmakers."
It noted that RMFAC “cannot legitimately or justifiably increase the salaries of the president, vice-president, governors and their deputies, and lawmakers at a time when over 133 million Nigerians are poor and several state governments are failing to pay salaries of workers and pensions."
"We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government and RMFAC to comply with our request in the public interest," it added.
SERAP recalled that the RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Bello, on August 18, 2025, reportedly stated the commission's decision to propose a pay rise for the president, vice-president, governors and their deputies, and lawmakers in Nigeria “on the seriously flawed ground that the salaries for these office-holders are 'paltry.'"
SERAP recalled that Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor of the Federal High Court in Lagos had directed the RMAFC to cut and adjust the salaries and allowances of National Assembly members in line with the nation’s economic realities.
"The judgment dated 4 June 2021 followed the consolidated suits brought by Mr Monday Ubani, Mr John Nwokwu, more than 1,500 concerned Nigerians, SERAP, BudgIT and Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE),” it said.
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