Tinubu, Other To Reduce Their Wages, Entitlements To Benefit Poor Nigerians
The Nigeria Labour Congress has said that President Bola Tinubu and other political leaders in the country should agree to reduce their wages and entitlements amid current economic hardship.
NLC spokesman Benson Upah stated this while explaining what the government should do to strengthen workers’ welfarism in the country during an interview with SaharaReporters on Thursday morning.
He said the labour leaders’ demands are affordable by the government if there is political will to reduce the cost of governance and curb corruption.
He said, “All the government needs to do is to ensure that it pays a realistic national minimum wage. And this is to cut the high cost of governance. It is to reduce corruption and prioritise the welfare of workers.
“The government should take a holistic view of sacrifice, right from the president and every political holder, there should be manifest sacrifice by way of reduction in their wages and entitlements.”
“For too long the poor and the underprivileged have had the burden of sacrifice. It is time for the rich and powerful to bear this burden (of sacrifice),” he added.
Mr Benedict Etanabene, a member of the Labour Party in the House of Representatives, had also said there was a need for Nigeria to reduce the cost of governance to move the country forward.
The lawmaker said this when he appeared as a guest on a live programme aired by Arise News TV last week, stating that corruption and reckless spending of public funds by political officeholders are to be blamed for the country’s lack of growth.
He said, “I have said it severally and we all agreed that the way we are running the government is too expensive. We must adjust everywhere.
“Let me give one clear example: governments shout every day that they are doing bunkering, who are those that do bunkering? The same big men in government in Abuja here. People sell crude more than what the Nigerian government is selling.”
