Benue Assembly recommends N75,000 minimum salary for traditional rulers

The Benue State House of Assembly has called on Governor Hyacinth Alia to approve an upward review of the salaries and allowances of traditional rulers across the state.

Lawmakers recommended that no traditional ruler should earn below the national minimum wage of N75,000, while maintaining a remuneration structure based on the category and status of each traditional institution.

They also urged the government to provide official vehicles for traditional rulers, beginning with kindred heads, to strengthen grassroots leadership.

The resolution was reached during plenary presided over by the Speaker, Berger Alfred, following deliberations on matters relating to revenue generation and administration in the state.

The Assembly also mandated the Local Government Service Commission to organise capacity-building and digital training programmes for local government revenue officers to strengthen their capacity and improve transparency and efficiency in revenue collection.

As part of efforts to enhance oversight of the state’s revenue system, lawmakers summoned the Executive Chairman of the Benue Internal Revenue Service (BIRS), Mr Joseph Kwaghgba, to appear before the House on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.

The BIRS chairman is expected to present a comprehensive report on the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR), including current revenue performance, collection mechanisms, technologies deployed to improve tax administration, measures to eliminate double taxation, and strategies aimed at blocking revenue leakages.

He is also expected to brief the Assembly on the implementation of the new presumptive tax regime and outline the agency’s short- and long-term plans for expanding the state’s tax base without placing an undue burden on businesses and residents.

The decision followed a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by the member representing Tiev State Constituency, Matthew Damkor.

Leading the debate on the motion, Damkor described internally generated revenue as critical to sustainable development, noting that increasing the state’s IGR would reduce dependence on monthly allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) while providing resources for infrastructure and essential public services.

He said the legislature required an accurate picture of the state’s revenue profile, baseline and projections to effectively discharge its constitutional oversight and appropriation responsibilities.