The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Shehu Gabam, has called on the Federal Government to ensure that civil servants receive a minimum wage of no less than N100,000.
Gabam emphasized this point during his appearance on Sunday’s edition of Channels Television’s “Politics Today.”
This appeal from Gabam comes in the wake of significant labor unrest in Nigeria. Just a week prior, the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress launched a nationwide strike to demand an increased minimum wage and the reversal of the recently increased electricity tariffs. The strike was suspended for five days after labor leaders and the Federal Government agreed to resume negotiations, aiming to establish a new minimum wage within a week.
By last Friday, the Tripartite Committee concluded its discussions, resulting in a tentative agreement where the Federal Government and the Organised Private Sector settled on N62,000, while labor representatives demanded N250,000.
Despite this, Gabam firmly stated that the government would benefit from setting a minimum wage above N100,000 to prevent civil servants from undermining the system. He argued, “For me, what I think at this stage is that the government should do something above N100,000. It is reasonably okay. It makes a little bit of sense. People can breathe, and people can go to work without thinking of sabotaging the institutions.”
He highlighted the inadequacy of the current N30,000 minimum wage by noting, “You are paying civil servants and other private employees just N30,000. And then when you go to the market, there is nothing of the lowest that you can get at the cost of N30,000.”
Additionally, Gabam criticized Nigerian governors for claiming that paying a minimum wage higher than N60,000 was unsustainable. He argued that any competent governor could manage to pay N60,000 comfortably if they prioritized correctly and eliminated ghost workers from the payroll. “Any serious governor that can put his priorities right can pay N60,000 comfortably,” Gabam asserted. He pointed out that many current issues stem from state-level governance failures, with governors significantly contributing to the problem.
Gabam also urged a reevaluation of the fuel subsidy removal policy, which he blamed for exacerbating the economic crisis. He stated, “They have to consider reviewing this subsidy. I’ve mentioned this severally, you can get it right with the rate of subsidy the way it is. This government initiated this crisis by removing the fuel subsidy and naturally, they don’t need to be told that there are consequences that will follow.”
He concluded by expressing his expectations of the government’s handling of the subsidy removal and its repercussions: “What we expected is that by the time the government made up its mind to remove the fuel subsidy and the pains that would follow thereafter, the consumption rates, the supply rates, and the demand rates of the nation, no one can stand it.”
