From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr Mohammad Bello Shehu, today stated the reason the commission reviewed the salaries of judicial officeholders.
The Salaries and Allowances Bill 2024, presented to the National Assembly and passed into law, he said, was expected to engender equity and fairness.
“All political, public, and judicial officeholders should receive justifiable and equitable remuneration in accordance with their respective responsibilities. The commission applies equal treatment and uniformity of salaries, allowances, and benefits for positions adjudged to entail equal input. In addition, the remuneration package should not be such that it rewards a newly appointed officeholder higher than an older colleague in similar posts.
“The remuneration of all political, public, and judicial officeholders should be commensurate with the risk and respective responsibilities attached to each office. It must fit the purpose, responsibilities, powers, and activities attached to the position.
“Also, the remuneration of public officeholders must be properly aligned with the relative status of the job. It should reflect the hierarchical order as stipulated in the National Order of Precedence Act,” he said, adding that it should serve to motivate them.
The remuneration, he said, should be designed in a manner such that it is capable of attracting and retaining the right calibre of manpower, as well as encouraging them to lead and live an honest life.
According to the chairman, the commission had observed lapses in the implementation of the remuneration reports at the state and local government levels, as contained in the report of a Pilot Monitoring Exercise it carried out in 2019.
“For instance, whereas the Remuneration Act was enacted at the federal level for the purpose of political, public, and judicial officeholders at that level and in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), most states across the country adopted the commission’s recommendations as contained in its reports without the required legislative action or enactment of state laws. This action constrained the constitutional provision with respect to the remuneration of the executive at the state and local government levels,” he said.