A group, the Concerned Nigerian Patriots (CNP), has alleged that organised labour’s insistence on N250,000 as the new minimum wage was unrealistic and based on a ploy to disrupt the economy, ultimately frustrating the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
The Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Chris Onyeka, said Labour would not accept the latest offer of ₦62,000 and the ₦100,000 proposal made by some individuals and economists.
Checks revealed that at the end of the Tripartite Committee meeting between Labour, the Federal Government, and the Organised Private Sector, the FG recommended N62,000 while the Organised Labour insisted on N250,000.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Alhaji Alfa Mohammed claimed that the Labour demand posed “a significant risk of plunging Nigeria into another recession, exacerbating the economic challenges that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has been diligently working to overcome.”
The Forum, which further maintained that the wage increase was not financially viable, alleged that organised labour has refused to yield ground in order to instigate anarchy.
He said, “Their insistence on a minimum wage initially set at ₦605,000, then ₦494,000, and now ₦250,000, is part of a broader strategy to force the government into adopting an economically unfeasible policy.
“Such a wage hike would likely lead to severe inflation, increased unemployment, decreased productivity, and greater economic hardship.
“We urge all Nigerians, especially our diligent workforce, to see through this veil of mischief.
“When a government is sabotaged, it is the masses who suffer the consequences. It is the responsibility of every citizen to support and pray for the success of our government, not to undermine it.”
The Forum appealed to Nigerians to reject what it called “unrealistic wage demands and support what the government and private sector employers determine to be realistic and sustainable wages.”
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