The African Democratic Congress party has stated that the masses, who are suffering from unprecedented inflation and a cost-of-living crisis, deserve a pay raise, not President Bola Tinubu and other political officeholders who are earning bogus and opaque allowances and living in luxury.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Wednesday, the opposition party raised strong objections to the proposed salary increases for Nigeria’s political officeholders, describing the move as tone-deaf and an affront to struggling Nigerians.

“In light of these developments, the ADC demands that this absurd plan be suspended immediately. No such increase should be implemented while ordinary citizens are grappling with extreme financial hardship.

“Government should focus on improving the lives of the people rather than improving the salaries of the president and other political office holders who already live in obscene indulgence.

“Government has no moral right to demand sacrifice from ordinary citizens while they focus on making lives easier for themselves. Political office holders cannot be insulated from economic hardships, while the everyday Nigerian suffers.

“As a party, we strongly believe that rather than further enriching political elites, all government policies at this time should prioritise raising the minimum wage to a living standard, ensuring timely and fair salaries for our civil servants, and strengthening our social welfare programs to reach the most vulnerable Nigerians,” said the ADC statement.

According to the ADC, the president and other top political officeholders have their salaries already supplemented with sundry bogus and opaque allowances, perks, and other discretionary funds, which together far exceed what ordinary Nigerians earn.

The opposition party lamented that “national minimum wage stands at N70,000 per month — a figure that has been largely eroded by the APC’s inflation, even where it has been paid”.

On Monday, RMAFC chairman Mohammed Shehu disclosed plans to increase the salaries of Mr Tinubu and other top politicians, stating that the president currently earns N1.5 million monthly, while ministers receive less than N1 million.

While  the RMAFC chair attempted to justify the proposed increases by describing the current pay structure of political office holders as “inadequate, unrealistic, and outdated,” the ADC pointed out that “these salaries are already supplemented with sundry bogus and opaque allowances, perks, and other  discretionary funds, which together far exceed” what ordinary Nigerians earn.

“How else are the political officeholders able to support their lifestyle of luxury and opulence if indeed these ‘outdated’ salaries mean anything to them?” said ADC.