*President Bola Tinubu
By Pathfinder Reporter
Monday June 10, 2024
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Two ministers, Father Ejike Mbaka and
leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele has berated the
Nigerian governors for rejecting the N62,000 minimum wage proposal while offering N57,000 as the amount they can accept.
The clerics expressed their views at different fora on the ongoing debate on the payment of living wage demanded by organized labor.
While the renowned Catholic Priest, Father Mbaka suggested that the proposed minimum wage of N62,000 should apply to all civil servants, including governors and members of the national assembly,
Primate Ayodele chided Nigerian governors for being heartless and inhumane for not making efforts to make the lives of workers better.
Addressing journalists at the weekend, Father
Mbaka argued that it is unfair for lawmakers to receive large allowances while many Nigerians struggle to make ends meet.
He expressed concern that the disparity in wages could lead to rebellion and urged the government to handle the situation carefully to avoid another strike.
“If we decide to give labor N60,000 or N62,000, why not generalize it to the House of Assembly members, senatorial members, House of Representative members, and governors?
“They are all civil servants, so are the others slaves? I can’t understand why they are amazing billions as sitting allowance, wardrobe allowance, newspaper allowance, and suffering allowance.
“The people that should have such allowances are those suffering in the village.
“How much are our teachers, nurses, and doctors being paid? Let’s be realistic, our civil servants that wake early and return late daily, how much are they being paid?
“Looking at the level of inflation in the country, you will see that we are all not sincere in this country.
“I’m pleading with the government that a stitch in time saves nine; this situation must be handled with care because it might be hijacked and nobody knows the ripple effect,” he opined.
Primate Ayodele
In his çontribution, Primate Ayodele said
that the Governors were insensitive to Nigerians’ plight following their rejection of the N62,000 minimum wage proposal.
The renowned seer however advised Tinubu
not play with the worker’s minimum wage, saying that the labor’s initial request was too much but has come down to a reasonable level and Tinubu not to play politics with it by trying to divide them.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele stated that Nigerian governors are heartless and inhumane for not making efforts to make the lives of workers better.
He made it known that the proposed N57,000 cannot work because it won’t be enough for anyone to handle the hardship in the country.
He revealed that the little amount workers get paid is the reason insecurity persists in several states across the country. He called on them to review the payment for workers instead of frustrating efforts to make their lives better.
‘’Our governors are heartless. Paying N57,000 as minimum wage in this present time is like punishing workers because there is serious hardship in this country. The proposed amount cannot work because they also can’t accept such a ridiculous amount. They collect security votes and allocate different payments to themselves but to pay a meager amount as minimum wage has become a problem for them.
‘’This is one of the reasons insecurity persists in our states because when a security man is paid below expectation, he will collect money from bandits to operate. The salaries of workers need to be reviewed because governors and politicians get paid well handsomely. The people in government know the pain of the people but, sadly, they are frustrating efforts to make it better.’’
On the part of the Labour unions, Primate Ayodele condemned them for shutting down the national grid in a demonstration due to the minimum wage.
He described the action as one that can claim the lives of innocent Nigerians. Going forward, the prophet advised the unions to be mindful of their actions during demonstrations.
‘’Shutting down the national grid is condemned; it’s something that can cost the lives of innocent Nigerians. The unions should know how to express their grievances by not affecting other Nigerians. Shutting down the national grid only affected innocent Nigerians.’’
Furthermore, Primate Ayodele advised President Tinubu to work on price control because hardship would persist even with an increased minimum wage if the prices of commodities were not well managed.
He urged the president not to play politics with their request.
‘’Tinubu must not play with the worker’s minimum wage. Their initial request was too much but they have come down to a reasonable level now and I want to advise President Tinubu not to play politics with it by trying to divide them.
‘’However, let there be price control because, without it, the minimum wage is zero no matter the amount,’’ he added.
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