The former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has said President Muhammadu Buhari was never sincere with workers on the ₦30,000 minimum wage.
Fayose described Wednesday’s setting up of an advisory technical committee as diversionary and a plot to “further deceive the workers”.
He said the President became jittery when the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) vowed not to vote for him unless the ₦30,000 minimum wage is implemented and opted to deceive the workers with the Bismark Rewane led committee.
According to a release issued on Wednesday by Media Aide, Lere Olayinka, the former governor asked what other function the committee will perform since he already promised to send a bill to the National Assembly to effect the change from ₦18,000 to ₦30,000 three months ago.
Fayose said; “It is on record that on November 6, 2018, while receiving the report of the Tripartite Committee on the Review of National Minimum Wage, President Buhari endorsed ₦30,000 as the new national minimum wage. He also promised to send a bill to the National Assembly to effect the change from ₦18,000 to ₦30,000.
“This is more than three months and the President is now setting up another committee purportedly to recommend modalities for the implementation of the new minimum wage. So what did the first committee that recommended the ₦30,000 minimum wage actually do?
“How committees is he going to set up on a new minimum wage that he told Nigerians that he already approved since November last year and was set to present the bill to the National Assembly?
“The President is simply playing on the intelligence of the workers by giving the impression that he is committed to the new minimum wage so as to get votes from them.
“The workers should, therefore, shine their eyes and avoid being deceived by a President who has failed in all ramifications and desperately seeking to hold on to power even at the expense of the
suffering Nigerians.”
While insisting that the president cannot provide any solution to the problems of Nigeria, Governor Fayose said: “No amount of deceitful committee will sway the workers into reelecting allowing a failed government to superintend over the country for another four years”.
President Buhari Inaugurates Advisory Technical Committee
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday inaugurated an advisory technical committee on the proposed ₦30,000 new minimum wage.
The committee which is made up of experienced economists and administrators is to be headed by a popular economist, Bismark Rewane.
Buhari while inauguration the committee in Abuja, restated his commitment to paying the new minimum wage.
He said the committee would recommend “modalities for the implementation of the new minimum wage in such a manner as to minimise its inflationary impact, as well as ensure that its introduction does not lead to job losses.”
Buhari added that “the work of this Technical Committee will be the basis of a Finance Bill which will be submitted to the National Assembly, alongside the Minimum Wage Bill.
