The National Vice Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, South-South, Emmanuel Ogidi has opined that the lingering issue of minimum wage increment for Federal and State workers can only be addressed through restructuring.
According to him, restructuring alone will solve all economic problems facing the country.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Ogidi, who was reacting to the outcome of the ongoing negotiations between the government and Labour Unions, said it would be difficult to have all states pay uniform salaries with the current structure.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige had on Wednesday said that the Federal Government after consulting with the 36 states governors had proposed N24,000 while the Governors proposed N20,000 as the minimum wage for civil servants.
The Minister disclosed that the Labour Unions discussing the demand for new minimum wage had proposed to increase it from the current N19,200 to N30,000 while the organised private sector came down to N25,000.
But Ogidi maintained that Nigeria was supposed to be run as a Federation and not as a Unitary System of Government.
He said, “This has always been the issue as all states are not equally buoyant. He said that restructuring either on regional or state by state basis would ensure a fair and balanced minimum wage across the country.
“Definitely, all the states are not equally buoyant and it will not be right to ask such states to pay the new minimum wage.
“Up until now, some states have not been able to pay the N18,000 and some states are also being forced to take some workers they do not need because they are afraid of Labour Unions.
“By the time we restructure, all these issues will be dealt with and when the PDP comes, Labour will be taken care of.
“Restructuring is all-encompassing, it will address issues across all sectors, it will ensure effective checks and balances between the three arms of government.
“We shall no longer have situation where the executive would just shut down the legislature or indiscriminately arrest officials of the judiciary,” he said.
“Nigeria is a great country, Nigeria can work again, and we shall make it work; we are grateful to Nigerians for having confidence in us again and on behalf of the party, I assure Nigerians that we are not going to disappoint them,” he added.
