Brave Dickson
Some Civil servants in Rivers State have vowed not to vote President Muhammadu Buhari in the forthcoming presidential election if he goes ahead to sign N27,000 into law as the new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
A cross section of civil servants at the state secretariat complex who made their position known on Thursday to our correspondent said, “we will use our vote against any political candidate who does not have our interest at heart including President Buhari.
“How can the national council of states approve N27,000 for us and the president without any delay transmitted the bill to the national assembly?”
“We are waiting, if the president signs N27, 000 into law, then we can assure you that we will not vote for him in February, 16, 2019.”
The decision to speedily approve the new minimum wage by the national council of state followed series of agitations and strike threats by the organized labour unions over the minimum wage.
Though the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige had said that federal government would top up the approved amount by N3,000 totally 30,000 for federal civil servants.
Dr Ngige, however, said states are at liberty to pay above but not below the new agreement.
The amount approved by the council of state is N3,000 short of the N30,000 which the Tripartite Committee on Review of National Minimum Wage had earlier recommended.
Creasing workers wage has experienced wide acceptance by vast majority of Nigerians including analysts who described it as a catalyst for revenue boost.
According to them, it will positively affect the purchasing power of consumers.
One Response