Buhari yet to receive new salary package report — Investigation

More than three months after the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission said it would give the country a new salary structure for political office holders, the agency is yet to submit the report to President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Punch, those to be affected by the new remuneration packages are the president, vice president, governors and their deputies, senators, members of the House of Representatives, state lawmakers, local government chairmen and their councillors, judges, commissioners, special advisers, special assistants, chairmen of constitutional bodies and other political office holders.

Investigations showed that although RMAFC had completed work on the new salary structure, it had not been able to secure a date from the Presidency for the submission of the report.

It was learnt that RMAFC had written to inform the Presidency of its intention to visit the presidential villa for the official submission of the report.

Former Chairman of RMAFC, Mr. Elias Mbam, had promised that the agency would give the country a new salary structure for political office holders by the end of September.

However, Mbam concluded his first tenure in November. He said the work had been concluded but declined to give details of the work. Since then, a substantive chairman had not been named while one of the commissioners, Mr. Umar Abba-Gana, has been Acting Chairman.

Procedurally, the agency is supposed to present the report to the President who would lay it before the Federal Executive Council. After deliberation by the FEC, it is presented to the National Assembly where it is enacted as a law for the remuneration of political office holders.

The current remuneration of public office holders is guided by the Remuneration Act of 2008. A review became imperative following dwindling government revenues occasioned by falling prices in the international oil market.

The ratification of the new packages prepared by the committee followed a retreat held for commissioners at the agency which was concluded in Owerri in October.

Our correspondent reports that much of the recommendations of the committee concentrated on the allowances of the political and judicial office holders as the salary packages would not depart significantly from the status quo.

It was also learnt that in the new remuneration package made for significant reduction in the number of aides and assistants that lawmakers are entitled to as well as a few other allowances that had attracted condemnation from Nigerians.

For the president, vice president, governors and deputy governors; the recommendations of the committee also did not depart significantly from the status quo.

This is because most of the allowances of these key members of executives at the federal and state levels were not monetised but provided for by the state through the budgetary process.

Attempts to speak with Abba-Gana on Saturday proved abortive while the Public Relations Officer at RMAFC, Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed, declined to speak on the matter.

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