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Nigerian workers poorer, FG should pay above N70,000 – Oshiomhole
The senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday, said the current generation of workers in the country is much poorer than those in the past.
According to him, the celebrated N70,000 minimum wage, when converted to dollars, is equivalent to $42.
The former Nigeria Labour Congress president, comparing the first minimum wage in the country under President Shehu Shagari, noted that the N125 minimum wage at that time was equivalent to $160.
Oshiomhole spoke during a lecture organised for members of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 17 at the National Institute of Security Studies in Abuja.
He said, “When minimum wage in Nigeria was established under President Shagari, I think around 1981, it was around N125 which was about $160 a month.
“Today, with the fat increase, the 100 per cent increase that the labour achieved last year, which is now being implemented this month, according to our current exchange rate, is $42.
“So if you divide N70,000 by N1,650, it gives you $42. The working people are much, much poorer now than we were so many years ago. So this opportunity will depreciate, and that affects the quality of life and everything.”
Oshiomhole also said the Federal Government and other states generating high revenues should pay workers more than the agreed N70,000 minimum wage.
He recalled how he declared a strike to compel the Lagos State government under Bola Tinubu to pay above the N5,000 minimum wage during his time as the NLC president.
He said, “A serious employer of labour should not pay minimum wage. They should pay much more. A major employer, like the civil service, should not pay the minimum wage. I expect that the Federal Government will, over time, adjust their minimum wage.
“When I was NLC president, we agreed that oil-producing states like Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Lagos and those who have a huge revenue should pay not less than N7,000 minimum wages, the same as the federal.
“Interestingly, when we pursued this policy, the president was the governor of Lagos State. He showed me all the books and told me he could not afford to pay. I had to compel him.
“We organised strikes against this president, asking that he should use all the money necessary to pay salary, even if he can’t do any other thing.
“That’s my business. My brief was not to go and sympathise with the employers. My brief is to get them to squeeze out anything we can squeeze out.”
Oshiomole also called for the expansion of minimum wage law to domestic staff, among others, through the amendment of the law.
He said, “But again, if you look at the law in Nigeria, which I hope will be able to amend very soon, although the Federal Government and the states have agreed on a minimum wage, for example, at N70,000, there are still people who are paying less than that, even under the law, because it says you have to have about 25 to 50 employees minimum for that law to be applicable to a particular enterprise.
“But with the changing technology, a small ICT company employing 10 people can generate so much turnover. So, using the number of employees was appropriate when the economy was more broad-driven, not with ICT.”
He also explained that the wages in other countries, especially in California in the United States, could be fuelling the Japa syndrome experienced in the country.
According to him, an unskilled worker could earn as high as $2,560 in a month in California.
He said, “If you check with Google, you’ll find that California minimum wage as of today is $16 an hour.
“So if a worker works for eight hours a day as we do in Nigeria, eight hours will give you $128 a day. In a month, if you work for five days a week, for four weeks, you work for 20 days, you earn $2,560 in a month.
“That is the minimum wage for unskilled labour. How much does that translate to in a month if you convert by exchange rate?”
Expressing hope that the country would prosper despite the hardships faced by citizens, he urged the government to watch some of its policies.
He said, “Today, I mean, we are going through a challenging period, but as we say, tough times don’t last, tough people do. Nigerians are tough. This time will pass, and prosperity will be here again.
“We just need to watch our policy choices so that the gains of the past are not lost.”
News
Nigerian Man Nabbed For Stabbing Fellow National To Death In France
A 27-year-old Nigerian man, identified only as Popori, has been arrested in Grenoble, France, for allegedly stabbing a fellow citizen, Monday, to death.
It was gathered that the incident occurred on the evening of Friday, November 22, when a fight broke out between two men during an altercation in a grocery store in Grenoble, Isère, France.
DayFR reports that, according to Grenoble Prosecutor Eric Vaillant, who confirmed information from Dauphiné Libéré, the incident occurred around 8:30pm.
The two men were inside an exotic grocery store when an argument broke out, quickly escalating into a violent altercation.
One of the individuals suddenly stabbed the other in the chest, for reasons still unclear.
Emergency services arrived on the scene but were unable to revive the victim.
On Saturday, the Grenoble public prosecutor announced that a 27-year-old Nigerian man had been taken into police custody at 12:30pm as part of an investigation initiated by the local judicial police service.
News
Longest serving monarch dies at 111
Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa, the longest serving traditional ruler in Bauchi State, is dead.
Inuwa, the village Head of Beli (Sarkin Beli) in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi, passed away at the Federal Medical Center Azare, Katagum Local Government Area of the state.
The monarch who was 111-year-old spent 91 years on the throne.
Chief Imam of Beli, Liman Musa Abubakar, confirmed the death of monarch which he described as a great loss to the entire people of Northern Nigeria.
During one of the interviews with Daily Trust in his lifetime, the late monarch had said, “Their grandfather was appointed as village head of Beli. He spent 12 years on the throne. He died and our father was appointed the village head. He spent 17 years. After that, I was appointed to the throne when I was 19 years old. This means that by my calculation, I was born around 19 12 or 1913. I was appointed to the throne around 1933 by the Emir of Katagum, AbdulQadir.”
The monarch lived and worked with four different first class Emirs of Katagum.
“We lived with the Emir of Katagum Abdulqadir who appointed me for 12 years before he left the throne and died six months later. Emir Umaru Faruqu was appointed. We spent 35 years with him.
When he died, his son, Muhammadu Kabiru was appointed. We spent 38 years with Emir Kabiru before he died, Again, after Muhammadu Kabiru, the present Emir of Katagum, Umaru Faruq II, was appointed. We lived with him for Six years.
Late Inuwa had said, “I am almost 91 years old on the throne. Alhamdulillahi, we live in peace with the people. And I gave birth to 11 people. Some of them died, but there are seven of them alive – four men and three women.
Many people interviewed said he was a peaceful ruler who [had] listening ears and worked for the peace of the land.”
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Katsina gov presents N682bn 2025 budget to State Assembly
Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State on Monday presented the State’s 2025 Budget Proposal to the state House of Assembly.
This is the second full year budget the governor is presenting to the House, which is in the sum of N682,244,449,513.87, covering Recurrent Revenue and Expenditure.
The Budget’s Recurrent Expenditure stands at the sum of N157,967,755,024.36 representing 23.15% while, Capital Expenditure stands at N524,274,694,489.51 representing 76.85%.
The Governor in his speech, announced that, the total of this budget when compared with that of the 2024, has an increase of N200,535,619,501.61, representing 40% increase.
The Governor, at the beginning of his speech, assured the House that his administration has achieved many of its goals and is on course to meet and exceed its targets.
He insisted that his administration has successfully reversed the tide of insecurity which severely threatened the peaceful co-existence of people in the State.
“Many of our local governments have been restored to normalcy while pushing the bandits to the fringes of the forests and, Insha-Allah, to the end of their existence.
“We have expended a lot of resources in fighting insecurity, and we shall continue to do all we can to protect lives and livelihoods in our dear state. I thank the Honourable Members for your support and dedication to ultimate victory,” he said.
The Governor while ranking MDAs by allocations, revealed that the Economic Sector got N302,246,140,569.76 representing 44.3%, followed by the Education Sector with 95,995,873,044.70 representing 14%.
In the same vein, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development got 81,840,275,739.70 representing 12% while the Ministry of Rural and Social Development got 58,728,146,293.72 representing 9%.
Other sectors such as the Ministry of Water Resources, 53,832,219,322.46 representing 8%, Ministry of Environment, 49,835,521,799.25 representing 7%, Ministry of Health, 43,881,752,172.75 representing 6%, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs 18,938,508,746.95 representing 3%, Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport 9,684,806,758.56 representing 10%.
Other sectors he said are in the sum of 230,759,902,908.71 representing 31% of the total proposed budget
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