Obi mulling N80k minimum wage, nearly triple the current N30k
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Peter Obi is mulling raising the national minimum wage from N30,000 under Muhammadu Buhari to at least N80,000 and may be up to N100,000 if elected President to usher relief for those at the lowest rungs of the social ladder.
Labour Party (LP) Deputy National Chairman Ayo Olorunfemi disclosed the plan on Channels Television, saying a N30,000 monthly minimum wage does not reflect the reality of Nigerians.
Implementing a raise to between N80,000 and 100,000 would depend on the job, he explained in pitching the Obi manifesto of payment of wages per hour instead of the current monthly format.
“It depends on the nature of the job that would be given out,” Olorunfemi said.
“For instance, when you take a cursory look at the manual labourer out there, he does not take less than N2,500-N3,000 per day which is still not okay as far as the reward system is concerned.
“If you divide N3,000 by six hours, you will be talking about N500 per hour.”
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Arriving at the new minimum wage
“So, when you benchmark that against what we have now, certainly you would be talking of something within the range of N500 to N1,000 per hour depending on the nature of work, and at the end of the day, someone can effectively say that he can make up to N4,000 in a day,” Olorunfemi said, per The PUNCH.
“And when you multiply N4,000 in a day by 20 or 25, we are talking about N80,000 or N100,000 in a month. N80,000 to N100,000 that is exactly where we are going.
“The Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have been brought in and plans are underway.
“When we get there you would see how this thing would work and I can assure you that Nigerian workers will be happier.
“We don’t have to expose how it will be implemented before they mess it up.”