The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to reject the proposed salary increase for political and public office holders, describing the move as “patently unlawful and unconstitutional.”

In a letter signed by Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP called on the President to decline the pay rise for himself, Vice President Kashim Shettima, governors, their deputies, and federal lawmakers and to encourage them to do the same.

The group further asked Tinubu to instruct the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to enforce a subsisting judgment delivered by Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor, which ordered the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to review downward the salaries and allowances of National Assembly members in line with Nigeria’s economic realities.

SERAP insisted that the RMAFC has no powers to arbitrarily increase political salaries and warned that approving the hike would only deepen inequality.
“Instead of reducing the extravagant salaries of political office holders to reflect the harsh economic conditions faced by Nigerians, the commission is seeking to raise them, which is unjustifiable,” the group stated.

The organisation maintained that suspending the proposed increment would serve the public interest and send a strong signal of the government’s commitment to accountability and economic fairness.