The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has proposed raising public office holders’ salaries by 114%, setting the stage for a more complicated minimum wage negotiation process.
President Bola Tinubu’s monthly salary will rise from N3.515 million to N8.013 million. Vice President, governors, and lawmakers would grow correspondingly.
Economists advocate an N60,000 minimum salary to bridge the income gap between public and civil officials, whose wages have been wiped out by growing inflation.
Since 2009, the overall monthly price index has climbed by 510 percent, from 90.2 points to 547.5 points.
Unfortunately, the national minimum wage has only raised 300 percent from N7,500 to N30,000. Nigerian workers earned more in dollars back then, but severe inflation hurt household income.
Organised labor wants N200,000 in minimum wage negotiations. The government provided a cost of living stipend to offset the loss of subsidy revenue, expected to cost N702 billion.
Yesterday, RMAFC announced a 114 percent salary increase for public officials, which outraged civil society and labor.
RMAFC stated that elected officials had not received a pay hike since 2007.
Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, the former General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), rejected the 17-year argument in a calm but passionate manner.
In 2007, elected public pay were among the highest in the world, distorting the Nigerian wage structure.
The distortions have rendered RMAFC, the National Income Wages and Salaries Commission (NIWSC), and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) ineffective.
He believed the demand for salary hikes was caused by the growing divide between elected public servants and civil servants.
Ozo-Eson said that studies have proven that Nigerian public officers are paid more than many other nations’ authorities, while mocking their kleptocratic tendencies.
Raising workers’ salary was an opportunity to close the wage gap between elected officials and regular workers due to this government’s severe economic policies.
Ozo-Eson added, “The situation we had was that the remunerations of elected officers were set higher than the prevailing wage structure relative to the rest of the economy. Even if we had reviewed the minimum wage twice or more throughout the period, it is still far below those levels, which has led to the ongoing call to restore the compensation structure in accordance with reality.”
He advised government, labor groups, and employers to create a fair and sustainable pay structure.
His words: “I think what needs to be done is to sit down and do a proper alignment of what the compensation for the whole economy should look like. Percentage reviews won’t fix a fully mismatched framework. We will continue to have a scenario where elected public officers’ salary is out of line with the rest of the economy, which will cause unstable wage demands in the rest of the economy.”
The NLC’s Assistant General Secretary, Chris Onyeka, called the move a government conspiracy to deceive Nigerian workers.
“Looking at the base that they are increasing by 114% against their humongous salaries and 30,000 for civil servants,” he remarked. If you boost N30,000 minimum salary by 114%, it will rise to N65,000. We want quadruples increased. If we want to achieve something, the minimum salary should be N250,000, or $300 per month.
“How does $300 compare to living costs? Nigerian employees are going home. Reduce governance costs to release resources.
Governors don’t change their pay, thus they don’t require salary increases.
Dr. Tommy Okon, First Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), stated the government has created a pattern for negotiations and allowance increases. They would follow the government’s example.
He said labor will study their requests and present them to the Presidential Proposal Steering Committee on Monday.
Okon, the National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), said there should be no fear or indignation but to react properly.
He said they’ll follow the government’s lead in national minimum wage discussions.
Dr. Muda Yusuf, an economist and CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), said the government should consider the nation’s sentiment, especially the residents’ current struggles, before making such a statement.
He advised Nigerians to sacrifice.
He said, “Something that will affect everyone, which by now the government should be announcing.” At least folks know something concrete is coming.”
Kelvin Emmanuel, CEO of Dairy Hills Limited, recommended the government to boost the minimum wage to N60,000 per month and reconsider the revenue-sharing model to help states meet their monthly pay responsibilities given their dismal economic conditions.
He bemoaned the 12.47 percent decline in family consumption spending, reflecting the hardship millions of Nigerians endured throughout the Naira redesign initiative.
He said the botched demonetisation program caused Nigeria’s GDP to decline from 3.54 percent to 2.25 percent.
The Federal Government should adopt a statewide model for the National Minimum Wage Act revision of 2023 in response to labor’s demands to benchmark wage increase to reflect economic realities of different states and regions.
Emmanuel stated that governments lack the mechanism for defining, implementing, and enforcing a minimum wage floor for the millions of unorganized workers in enterprises without labor unions, hence pay increases seldom focus on them.
Jide Ojo, a public affairs expert, said the timing was insensitive, but Nigerians should be impartial because the increment was announced two years ago.
He suggested the measure would incite labor to protest and force unions to negotiate higher wages.
Backdating to January 1, 2023, is insensitive. Presidents, VPs, and governors face hard economic realities. Theirs should have been suspended and the judges’ adopted. Political appointee aides benefit from it, making it risky.
“A 114 percent increase seems huge, but given the naira devaluation, it tends to be insignificant. The nation needs inexpensive consumables, transportation, housing, healthcare, and education.
Inflation has reduced buying power. “By January 2024, subsidy and workers palliative will be resolved, so there is justification to earn a bit more,” he added.
