Senator Shehu Sani Advocates for N145,000 Minimum Wage for Nigerian Workers

Senator Shehu Sani

As Nigerian workers joined their counterparts globally to observe this year’s May Day, Senator representing Kaduna Central at upper chamber of National Assembly, Shehu Sani, has advocated $300 (aboutN145,000)  as minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

 

The activist-turned politician, who stole the low-key workers celebration, in Kaduna, on Monday, when he stormed the venue without being officially invited by Union leaders, further described the current N18,000 minimum wage as ‘a big insult’ to Nigerian workers adding that, the amount was not even enough to feed a politician’s dog in a month.

 

According to the federal lawmaker, the Nigerian workers deserve to live better than they are currently living as the country is reach enough to comfortably pay them well but politicians and other public office holders have been stealing monies that would have been used to achieve that long ago quickly added that, all the politicians are well paid even though the system has made it difficult for them to display their genuine pay slip.

 

“When you say N56,00, or N60,000, sometimes all these things are tied to our foreign exchange. Nigerian workers should have not less than $300 per month and that will be between N140,000 and N150,000.

“I would be one of those that would push it forward. Nigeria has the resources to do that. The amount of money that is been used to maintain and sustain political office holders, the amount of money been wasted on corruption, the amount of money been stolen both known and unknown are monumental to the point that we cannot tell ourselves that such a country that pride itself as a giant of Africa will be paying less than $20 in the name of minimum wage.

“N18,000 or N20,000 minimum wage is an insult to Nigerian worker because it cannot sustain even a dog or security man in the house of a politician.

“So, as far as I am concern, I believe the only way to be fair and just is to peg it and we should not just peg it but rather make it a government policy. Public and private working places should maintain that especially you journalists that have no salary.

 

"I think there should be a law that should peg a minimum wage and take it to the dollar and that will be the best way to which workers will be able to sustain themselves and their family”, he added.