By Ken Afor
Shehu Sani, a former Senator who represented Kaduna Central, has thrown his weight behind the Nigerian labour movement’s push for a significant increase in the national minimum wage, stating that the current pay levels are unrealistic for workers to survive on.
Speaking in an interview on Arise, the author and playwright questioned how any Nigerian could realistically live on less than N100,000 per month, far above the N45,000-N48,000 range being offered by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“I don’t know how a Nigerian can survive with less than N100,000. If you break down what the government is offering N45,000-48,000, you will see how unrealistic it is by the time you factor in many things. The position taken by labour should be considered by the government,” Sani urged, acknowledging the fiscal constraints faced by authorities who have struggled to meet existing wage obligations in recent years.
However, Sani, President of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria (CRCN), argued that with the government’s increased revenue following the removal of fuel subsidies, there is no better way to productively utilize the funds than by raising the minimum wage to a level where workers can adequately provide for their families.
“But from what we have learnt since the withdrawal of subsidy, the government has more money and there’s no better way to effectively and productively spend it than to increase the minimum wage of Nigerian workers to a reasonable point where he can adequately take care of his family.
“Economic reforms are taking place in this country, there are consequences for the reforms. They are supposed to be sacrifices but it should be across the board,” Sani stated, advocating for a balanced approach that considers the impact on the labor force.
The debate over minimum wage has intensified in the aftermath of the fuel subsidy removal, which has led to a surge in government revenue. Workers, grappling with soaring living costs, are now demanding a fair share of the economic gains.
“Workers are seeing that money is coming in trillions, they want their own share. When a nation subsidises, it makes more value for wages but when they are removed, you have to pay for it,” Sani reasoned.
The New Diplomat reports that last Wednesday, during the resumed tripartite committee meeting, organized labour rejected the federal government’s proposal of N48,000 as the minimum wage for public service workers in the country.
“What the government has presented to us is a wage reduction. This government is not serious about giving workers a living wage,” a labour leader representative said.
It would be recalled also that on May 1, 2024, during the Workers’ Day celebration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had pledged to provide workers with a living wage, assuring them that their wait for better pay was coming to an end.
But, NLC and TUC, during the celebration, proposed N615,000 as the minimum wage, citing the risingccost of living as justification for the figure.
Labour rejected the offer when it was presented by representatives from the federal government during the resumed tripartite committee meeting on Wednesday, May 15.
