Salary, allowance cuts: NASS disagreement won’t stop us – RMAFC

The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has said that the National Assembly’s disagreement over the downward review of salaries and allowances of political office holders would not deter it from its mandate.

The Public Relations Officer of the commission, Mr Ibrahim Mohammed, said this in Abuja, yesterday.

Mohammed said that only the commission had the constitutional right to determine the salaries of political office holders.

“Presently, the commission is reviewing the salaries and allowances of all political office holders. When we are done, it will be submitted to the National Assembly for its approval.

“However, the legislators cannot change whatever we set for them as salaries and allowances. The law does not allow them to do so.

“They can only make input into whatever we propose for the president and others. So their disagreement will not stop us,” he said.

It would be recalled recalled that an adhoc committee was constituted by the Senate President Bukola Saraki to slash legislators’ take-home pay following the controversy that trailed the National Assembly’s N150 billion budget for the year.

The committee submitted its report and it was deliberated on Wednesday in a closed-door meeting at the senate.

Saraki, however, told newsmen after the meeting that the senate had agreed to “stand it down for additional inputs” after members failed to agree on the percentage to be cut.