SERAP files lawsuit against RMAFC over planned pay rise for political office holders

Monday, September 8, 2025 - The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken legal action against the Revenue Mobilisation Allo­cation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), seeking to halt its pro­posed salary hike for political and public office holders in Nigeria.

The suit challenges the plan to raise the remuneration of the president, vice president, state governors, their deputies, and federal and state lawmakers.

Recall that RMAFC last month revealed its proposal, ar­guing that the current salaries of these office holders were “paltry” and needed upward review.

In the suit number FHC/ABJ/ CS/1834/2025 filed last week at the Federal High Court, Abuja, SERAP is asking the court to determine whether RMAFC’s proposed salary hike for the pres­ident, vice president, governors and their deputies, and lawmak­ers in Nigeria is not unlawful, un­constitutional and inconsistent with the rule of law.

SERAP is asking the court for “a declaration that the proposed salary increase for the president, vice president, governors and their deputies, and lawmakers in Nigeria is unlawful, unconsti­tutional and inconsistent with the rule of law as it violates the provisions of the Nigerian con­stitution 1999 [as amended] and RMAFC’s Act.”

SERAP is seeking “an order of injunction restraining RMAFC, its agents and privies from taking any step to review upward the sal­aries of the president, vice presi­dent, governors and their depu­ties, and lawmakers in Nigeria.

“An order directing RMAFC, its agents to review downward the salaries and allowances of the president, vice president, gover­nors and their deputies, and law­makers in Nigeria to reflect the economic realities in the country.

“Restraining the commission from arbitrarily increasing the salaries of the president, vice president, governors, their depu­ties, and lawmakers would serve legitimate public interests.”

SERAP is also arguing that “the RMAFC’s constitutional and statutory mandates do not imply the unrestrained powers to increase the salaries of the pres­ident, vice president, governors, their deputies, and lawmakers.”

According to SERAP, “Review­ing downward the salaries of the president, vice president, gover­nors, their deputies, and lawmak­ers would be entirely consistent and compatible with the Nigerian constitution, the country’s inter­national human rights obliga­tions, and the current economic realities in the country.”

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Ms Oluwakemi Oni, and Andrew Nwankwo, also reads in part: “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.

“The imminent pay rise for po­litical office holders is a gross vio­lation of the provisions of chapter 2 of the Nigerian constitution re­lating to Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, and the country’s interna­tional human rights obligations.

“The combined provisions of chapter 2, and chapter 4 on funda­mental rights particularly section 42 give meaning and substance to the socio-economic rights of Ni­gerians and their right to equality and non-discrimination.

“The RMAFC should properly discharge its constitutional and statutory mandates to ‘monitor the accruals to and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account and ‘advise the Federal and State governments on fiscal efficiency and methods by which their revenue can be increased.

“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 RMAFC 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.

“The RMAFC has improp­erly and incorrectly exercised its constitutional and statutory mandates by increasing the sala­ries of political office holders. The proposed salary increase is a vio­lation of the provisions of the Ni­gerian constitution, the country’s human rights obligations and the legal doctrine of reasonableness.

“RMAFC 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.

“RMAFC seems to act con­sistently to give advantage to political office holders over the interests of poor Nigerians. The RMAFC, in the exercise of its constitutional and statutory mandates ought to balance the interests of the marginalised and vulnerable sectors of the population against the ‘interests’ of political office holders.

“The RMAFC ought to priori­tise cutting the excessive amounts yearly budgeted as allowances for political office holders and life pensions for former presidents, vice-presidents, governors and their deputies, and lawmakers.

“The idea of representative democracy, fairness and equality and non-discrimination would mean little if the salaries of politi­cal office holders are arbitrarily in­creased while millions of poor Ni­gerians continue to pass through harrowing times and watch their standards of living plummet.

“The grim condition of many Nigerians is worsened by the deterioration of public services where access to pipe-borne wa­ter and affordable health-care remains a dream and the supply of electricity is epileptic and unreliable in an era in which glo­balisation has made such services ubiquitous and cheap.

“The RMAFC Chairman Mo­hammed Bello on 18 August 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.’

“The commission claimed that the ‘review package’ ‘remain fair, realistic, and sustainable,’ and ‘align with the country`s current socio-economic realities.’

“According to him, the alloca­tion formula was last overhauled in 1992, saying that there had been several executive adjustments since 2002, but a full-scale over­haul had not been undertaken until now.

“Justice Chuka Austine Obio­zor of the Federal High Court La­gos ordered the RMAFC to review downward and fix the salaries, remuneration or allowances of members of the National Assem­bly to reflect the economic reali­ties in the country.

“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).

“Under sections 154(1) and 156(3) and paragraph 31, Part I of the Third Schedule to the Nigeri­an Constitution, members of the Commission are appointed by the President subject to the confirma­tion of the Senate.”