No NASS Member Will Earn Over N1m Monthly Henceforth, Says RMAFC
The good old days when federal legislators at the National Assembly took home millions of naira monthly in ridiculously salaries and perks are over, says the Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mr. Elias Mbam.
The RMAFC is scheduled to release a new salary scale for public office holders this September as government moves to curb spending as the price of crude oil, the nation's top contributor to the national budget, continues to plunge in the international markets.
THEWILL can report that President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed reservations over the salaries and allowances of political office holders, especially federal legislators.
Speaking with journalists at the Presidential Villa in Abuja Tuesday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Mbam said, “The review of subsisting remuneration package is going to reflect the socio-economic realities of today. We expect that before the end of next month, it will be ready. But it will go through a process, it is not something that you will just say yes or no to. It will go through a process and it should be obvious to you the economic realities of the day and it is for government to reflect that.”
He said the salary would also affect officials at the state and local government level.
“Of course, National Assembly members are elected, it will include them, it will include the judiciary, it will include the state legislature, the executive and of course the local government will be included.”
Asked whether members of the National Assembly would accept the new package being proposed, he said: “They do not have a choice. We are guided by the constitution and we are going to be guided by such laws that are provided for in the constitution and the oath we swore to obey.”
He canvassed that the agency be given financial autonomy and enforcement powers to ensure that its regulations are enforced
“They should review the Act establishing the commission so that it can have the power of enforcement and sanctions on any of the defaulting MDAs,” he said.
He added that based on the commission's stipulation, no member of the National Assembly should earn up to N1 million a month.
“What we read on the pages of newspapers is not known to the commission because there is no member of the National Assembly, based on what we determined, should earn up to N1 million a month.
“We have done a lot to enlighten the general public on the true position of the remuneration package. First and foremost, it is on our website, it is clearly written there and we have had course to publish the package several times in many national dailies.
“We have also had interactions with the press at different forums where we explained what the commission had determined,” he added.