New York-based lawyer and chartered accountant, Chief Owolabi Salis has urged President Bola Tinubu to make N100,000 the new minimum wage, following his recent approval of additional N35,000 to the salaries of all categories of workers in Nigeria.
Salis, who is also former governorship candidate in Lagos State on the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD), made the call in a statement from his United States base, copy of which he made available to newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday, noting that all indices clearly showed that most Nigerians were going through harrowing experiences as a result of economic hardship.
According to the legal practitioner, the development has made life miserable for millions of Nigerians, especially workers who now live from hand to mouth, even as he quickly recalled that the exchange rate was N325 to a Dollar when the Federal Government announced N30,000 as minimum wage in 2019.
He said that the exchange rate is currently N1,000 to a Dollar, noting sadly that such development had made “life brutish, brash and unbearable for most Nigerian families.”
“Today, the exchange rate is now N1,000 to a Dollar which even makes life brutish, brash and unbearable for most Nigerian families.
“This is aside from food inflation and insecurity that has made hunger a regular visitor in many homes and communities.
“Worse still, public Universities and government colleges have hiked their fees in a manner that makes education the exclusive preserve of the rich.
“100,000 naira is just $100 as against over $20,000 paid to some politicians monthly. Isn’t it ridiculous? When you remove feeding, housing, and transportation from the less than $100, the money is gone,” Salis said.
Salis further noted that notwithstanding, the politicians who had put their own wages in current terms, “hedged against inflation while leaving the less privileged out,” saying President Tinubu needed to address this matter.
“This is a clarion call to all Nigerians of good conscience, especially opinion leaders at all levels and most especially the civil society to speak up now.
“The truth remains that things are extremely difficult for the people, hence the need to ensure a living wage is paid as minimum wage to our struggling workers.
“This is the least one can ask for at this time, as a bag of rice for instance is more than N50,000 in the market. Even with the unfortunate scenario of many sleeping in their offices from Monday to Friday, to lessen the cost of transportation, things are still terribly bad for the average worker.
“Nigerians workers surely deserve better, thus the idea of a N100,000 minimum wage is an idea whose time has come,” he said.
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