The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) is backtracking from reports that it has approved the increment of salaries of politicians, judicial and public office holders by 114 percent, saying it did not make such an approval.
Public relations officer for the Commission, Christian Nwachukwu, said the approval is only in the realm of recommendation as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not given final approval for the implementation of the increment.
Rakiya Tanko-Ayuba, a RMAFC Federal Commissioner had announced the said increment when he represented the Commission’s chairman, Mohammad Shehu at the presentation of the reports of the reviewed remuneration package to Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris on Tuesday.
Tanko-Ayuba said that implementation of the reviewed remuneration packages was effective from January 1, 2023, a claim the the Commission’s Spokesperson strongly refuted.
But denying the report during a phone call chart with Leadership, Nwachukwu said: “Not my chairman. Not my chairman. My chairman has never made any statement on it. And I have not made any statement on it. No statement from the chairman. No statement from me. So, I don’t know. I heard one of the Commissioner’s said it. I don’t want to be quoted.”said while denying the commissioner’s disclosure.
“No approval yet; there is no approval yet. I don’t know the source of that story. Everything is under process. It has to come as a bill for Mr President to accent.
“The President has not given assent. Until the President gives assent, you cannot take it as if it has taken effect. You know that. You are a journalist.
“I don’t want to be quoted wrongly. The President has not given assent to it. It is still under process.”
Asked if the National Assembly has begun work on it, he said: “it will be sent to the National Assembly. Whichever way, whether it has been sent or not the President has not assented to it. All those legislative processes have to be completed. Finally, it will land on Mr President’s table for assent. That has not been completed.
When our correspondent asked if that means that the story is not true, Nwachukwu said, “Just take it the way you understand it so that you don’t quote me anyhow.”
Asked whether the Revenue Mobilisation Commission has sent the executive bill through FEC to the National Assembly for deliberation, Nwachukwu simply said, “Everything is under the process.”