Popular Catholic Priest, Ejike Mbaka, has berated Nigerian governors and legislators for “amassing billions” of naira as allowances but offering Nigerian workers N62, 000 as minimum wage.
Mr Mbaka, an outspoken cleric from Enugu Catholic Diocese, therefore, suggested that the proposed N62, 000 minimum wage should be generalised to cover political office holders in Nigeria.
“If we decide to give labour N60, 000 or N62, 000 why not generalise it to the House of Assembly members, senatorial members, House of Representative members, and governors?” he said.
The Catholic Priest stated this while addressing reporters on Saturday, Punch newspaper reported.
Mr Mbaka’s remarks came amidst the ongoing negotiations between the government and organised labour on the new minimum wage for workers in the country after the old one, N30, 000, expired in April.
At the resumed negotiation after the industrial action declared by the labour unions in the country, the federal government increased its offer from N60, 000 to N62, 000 while the organised labour stepped down their demand to N250, 000.
But governors of the 36 states in the federation in a statement argued that the N60, 000 initially proposed by the federal government was not sustainable.
Mr Mbaka queried why politicians are getting huge allowances but treated civil servants as “slaves”, despite high inflation rate in the country.
“They are all civil servants, so are the others slaves? I can’t understand why they amass billions as sitting allowance, wardrobe allowance, newspaper allowance, and suffering allowance.
“The people that should have such allowances are those suffering in the village.
“How much are our teachers, nurses, and doctors being paid? Let’s be realistic, our civil servants that wake early and return late daily, how much are they being paid?
“Looking at the level of inflation in the country, you will see that we are all not sincere in this country,” he said.
The cleric urged the government to handle minimum wage issues with care because “it might be hijacked and nobody knows the ripple effect”.
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