Workers Day: N18,000 Minimum Wage is an Insult – Shehu Sani
By Alex Uangbaoje, Kaduna
Senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone, has termed “as an insult”, the paltry #18,000 minimum wage currently being paid to Nigerian workers as salary.
“N18,000 minimum wage is an insult. There is no security man in the house of a politician that earn less than N18,000, there is no dog in the house of a politician that is fed with N18,000, there is none.
“I think is high time the Nigerian workers should peg their minimum wage in dollar term. Stop agitating for N56,000 minimum wage, say $300. $300 minimum wage is over N140,000.
“It is unfair that for a nation that can afford to sustain the political class from the local government to the presidency, cannot afford to pay workers as at when due.” Sani exclaims.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Depth, said this on Monday in Kaduna during an event to mark the International Workers Day celebration in the State.
Senator Sani, laments that despite the commitment, efforts and struggle for a democratic government, the Nigerian workers, has not been appreciated by the political ruling class.
“The working class does not just represent workers, they represent the whole of society, they represent the downtrodden, the weak, the marginalized and the voiceless, the working class has always championed the struggle for freedom and liberation globally.
“They have always become a strong tool for social, economic and political change. Nigerian workers have been in the forefront of the struggles for democracy, they have also been in the forefront of good governance.” He said.
The lawmaker added that the Nation must reform it laws to give respect and dignity to its workers, saying “so many things are wrong with our country.
“The amount of money being pumped to sustain public officials is too much. There is the need to cut cost and use the rest of the money to pay workers. The amount of money politicians spend during election, is ten times more than the money used to pay the whole of Nigeria workers and that is unfair.”
