Analysts have said the new minimum wage announced by some governors in the country would not have any significant improvement in the welfare and well-being of Nigerian workers.
They claimed that the figures dished out by some state governors are not in conformity with economic realities, stressing that an intentional act to better the lives of workers is lacking on the part of the governors.
The Federal Government and the Labour Union had signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the N70, 000 new minimum wage. The Committee on Consequential Adjustments in Salaries had reached an agreement to implement the new minimum wage on July 29, 2024.
However, as at the time of this report, federal workers are yet to start receiving the new salaries.
Last week, some state governors made public their preparedness to implement the new minimum wage and also disclosed various amounts that they would be paying as the least salary.
Rivers State had approved the payment of N85,000 as its minimum wage, Ogun State approved payment of N77,000, Gombe State agreed to pay N71,451, Ondo State announced to pay N73,000, Kogi State agreed to pay N72,500, Adamawa State said it will pay N73,000, while Lagos State announced N85,000 as its mom wage.
The Oyo State Government said it will announce its minimum wage after the issue of Consequential Salary Adjustment is settled. Borno had talked about N70, 000 while Osun and Benue States have expressed readiness to adopt the Federal Government’s minimum wage but they are yet to make any pronouncement.
However, Jigawa, Zamfara, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa States are yet to announce their minimum wage.
Analysts have expressed concerns that the disclosed amounts by some governors would not in any significant way increase the purchasing power of the workers.
In their separate reactions, the analysts, Kanmi Ademiluyi, Ayo Ologun and Fatai Tijani said the prices of goods and services have experienced astronomical rise since the agreement was made in July, urging state governors to hike the payments if they actually want their workers to survive the harsh economy.
Ologun said, “One of our problems is that we have been so deceived by figures and numbers that whenever these amounts are dished out, we think they are some big things.
Someone like me who is in tune with the economic realities of the country will not be moved by these amounts announced by some governors as minimum wage.
“I find it very mean that governors had to wait till now before making their intentions known. This is just a few of them. Many of them are still confused about what to do. This shows that our governors don’t have the welfare of their workers at heart. This N70, 000 agreement was entered into in July and this October, I don’t need to start explaining to you the barrage of calamities that have befallen the economy in the last two months. So, I don’t expect this N70, 000 and N80, 000 being brandished to be realistic.”
He was disturbed that a State like Jigawa just started paying N30,000 minimum wage just about four months ago, experiencing pessimism in the state governor adopting the N70,000 minimum wage any time soon.
“The reason why these governors find it very hard to pay something realistic is that they don’t care about the condition of their workers. They take issues of the people’s welfare with levity, otherwise, they should not have even stayed this long before some of them started coming out.”
Kanmi Ademiluyi identified sufficient wage for workers as a way of investing in the people, saying, “If we are going to develop as a people and pull millions out of poverty, because no nation will thrive in investment unless there is good pay to workers who will buy what they are producing, then, we need to move away from this N70, 000 and N80, 000 figures.”
“Nigerian workers’ situation has not improved and that is the truth. This minimum wage cannot attract the kind of investment to fill the manufacturing base of this country. We don’t have a sustainable income. It is not about the population, it is about the amount of people who really have the purchasing power to buy things. We are stock in a mess. This minimum wage reveals one thing; there is no intention whatsoever to build an economy. It is a statement that this country is not interested in developing the economy and pulling people out of poverty,” he contented.
