A report circulating online claims that there was a 114 percent upward review of salaries for elected public officeholders and judicial officers in Nigeria.
Multiple online media blogs including Instablog and Pulse Nigeria, have widely shared this report on Twitter and Instagram, as can be seen here and here.
This has generated mixed reactions from different corners, particularly in light of the recent removal of fuel subsidy, which resulted in increased fuel prices nationwide.
Claim: There is a 114% upward review of salaries for political and judicial officers
Verification
In an attempt to verify the claim, the CDD War Room traced the origin of the viral report and identified the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), a federal government-owned news reporting outlet, as the source.
We also found that TheCable and Daily Trust quoted NAN in their reports about the development, as can be seen here and here.
According to the report, the body responsible for determining appropriate remuneration for public officeholders, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), had proposed a review of remuneration packages for political, judicial and public officers during the administration of the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari.
During a recent presentation of the proposal on June 20 in Birnin Kebbi, RMAFC chairman, Muhammadu Shehu, who was represented by a federal commissioner, Rakiya Tanko-Ayuba, reportedly disclosed that the remuneration was adjusted upward by 114%.
In another report, published by Leadership Newspaper, RMAFC public relations officer, Christian Nwachukwu, further clarified that the proposed upward review of salaries for public servants was yet to come as a bill for it to be passed into an Act.
The RMAFC’s official website shows that the Act that is still in use for the remuneration of political office holders, is the “Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.) (Amendments) Act, 2008.”
Verdict: True
The claim that there was a 114% upward review of salaries for elected political and judicial officers is supported by multiple credible media reports, as confirmed by the CDD War Room. It is however important to note that the revision has not yet been enacted into law.