By Sunny Anderson Osiebe
The Deputy President of
the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has reiterated his call for the
implementation of N50,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
Ekweremadu stated this
in his goodwill message to workers on May Day.
He said the current
N18,000 minimum wage was no longer realistic given the hyperinflation in the
country, which he said had made it difficult for overwhelming majority of
Nigerian workers to afford the basic needs of life.
He said: “I felicitate
with our workers who toil day and night to move the nation forward. But we must
collectively show the workers that we care beyond lip service. Importantly, it
is high time we raised the minimum wage from N18,000 to N50,000. It does not
make sense to preach anti-corruption alone without giving people the
opportunity to earn honest and meaningful living.
“The truth is that the
take-home pay can no longer take the workers home. Where it does, it cannot
keep their homes happy because they can hardly afford a bag of rice, let alone
pay school fees, and foot other basic bills”.
He said the nation
could afford N50,000 minimum wage through proper management of the economy and
prudent expenditure by all levels of government.
Ekweremadu wished the
workers a happy May Day.
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