Ohanaeze Ndigbo has urged President Bola Tinubu and the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to suspend any plans to increase the salaries of political office holders, warning that such a move could spark public unrest.
In a statement issued in Abakaliki, Deputy President-General of Ohanaeze, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, recalled a 2021 Federal High Court ruling that directed RMAFC to review and reduce lawmakers’ salaries in line with Nigeria’s economic realities.
“We call upon him to immediately suspend any proposed salary increases for political office holders, including the President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, and lawmakers. To ignore this urgent plea is to risk provoking the backlash of an angry and oppressed populace,” Isiguzoro said.
He argued that RMAFC had no constitutional authority to arbitrarily raise salaries, describing the move as a misuse of its mandate.
“The RMAFC has ignited a fire that, if not extinguished by the presidency, threatens to spiral into uncontrollable rebellion. Citizens are both hungry and angry, and proposing a pay rise for politicians amid soaring living costs is an affront that could breed chaos and anarchy,” he added.
Ohanaeze further called on Tinubu to comply with Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor’s ruling mandating a downward review of lawmakers’ pay, stressing that the presidency must demonstrate empathy and solidarity with citizens struggling under tough economic conditions.
