The Senate yesterday described the position of state governors that the existing national minimum wage be slashed in view of the falling price of crude oil as a plot to short-change the Nigerian masses.
Senate Committee Chairman on Employment, Labour and Productivity, Suleiman Nazif condemned the statement credited to Governor of Zamfara state, Abdulaziz Yari in this regard, saying it was bad to think of cutting the meager pay of the poor masses to whom even the existing minimum wage is not adequately taken care of their needs.
Governor Yari who spoke in his capacity as chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) had argued that the existing N18000 minimum wage regime cannot be sustained by states that are currently battling to meet contend woth dwindled revenue from the federation account.
Vowing to resist the move to “further impoverish the masses”, Nazif, however, commended some of the state governors who chose to distance themselves from the move.
He said, “It is quite sad and unfortunate the recent comment credited to the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Governor Abdulaziz Yari that #18,000 national minimum wage promulgated into law in 2011 was no longer sustainable because of the fall in the price of crude oil”, said Senator Nazif in an interview with journalists.
“Nigerians are totally opposed to this retrogressive plan by the governors. It is indeed a heinous plan to further impoverish Nigerian workers by planning to reduce the meager #18000 national minimum wage. Nigerian workers have made and are still making huge sacrifices towards the development of the country.
