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The Southern and Middle Belt
Leaders’ Forum on Thursday said the N30,000 minimum wage in Nigeria amounts to
“starvation wage” which cannot give quality life to an average Nigerian family.
The forum advised the organised
labour unions to key into the struggle to restructure Nigeria in order to
achieve a living wage.
The forum stated this in a joint
statement signed by representatives of the respective zones: Yinka Odumakin,
South West; Chigozie Ogbu, South East; Bassey Henshaw, South South and Isuwa
Dogo, Middle Belt.
The forum said only the
devolution of powers to state could guarantee proper harnessing of the nation’s
natural resources and provide a good remuneration package for its workers.
The statement read: “All that is
needed is to prune the 68 items on the exclusive list of the 1999 Constitution
and devolve more powers to the states including the right to mine the resources
under their soil and turn every corner of Nigeria to productivity centres as
there is no state North and South that is not blessed with one resource or the
other.
“This is the core issue in
restructuring which President Buhari and Prof Osinbajo his vice have
consistently shown they don’t understand or are pretending not to do.
“The organised labour to key
into retooling Nigeria for the benefit of all instead of engaging in maximum
struggles for pittance minimum wage that cannot give them decent living and
which those who run the country are not even ready to concede.
“The forum observed with keen interest
the yoyo dance that both the Federal and State Governments have danced over the
issue of a living wage for the Nigerian workers.
“Matters came to a head recently
when organized Labour was to call workers out on strike over the N30,000
‘agreement’ on minimum wage before their leaders capitulated to the deception
of the Federal Government that the President has accepted the amount proposed .
“The period after the suspension
has seen government singing a new tune with state governments now insisting they
have to lay off workers if they have to pay a new minimum wage of N30,000(
about $90) monthly .Some states are in arrears of several months even with the
current N18,000 misery wage.
“The reality in Nigeria of today
is that N30,000 is a starvation wage that cannot give quality life to any
average family .It is even more scandalous compared to the wages of those who
serve in government and the many extravagant wastes they indulge in.
“However, it must be honestly
admitted that the only thing the shrinking economy of Nigeria can sustain under
the unitary fiscal arrangement is graft given the absence of productivity and
reliance on sharing of oil proceeds.
“The Federal Government recently
shamelessly announced that it would have to sell the county ‘s assets to fund
the less than N9trn 2019 budget when studies have shown that Nigeria has the
capacity to have a N50trn annual economy if it goes back to the practice of
Federalism.
“The “Project Nigeria” had
become a stalemate and urged Nigerians not to support any party or candidate
that is not ready to go to the taproot of the problem with Nigeria in the 2019
elections.
“It would be another huge
disappointment and dashed expectation to do what has been done repeatedly with
failure as outcome and expect a new turn.
“Those who oppose the
restructuring of Nigeria know the good Federalism will do for all, but their
desire for command and control for as long as the existing order can guarantee
their own comfort is the reason they don’t want us to move in that direction.”
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