· Obi questions Tinubu’s absence
By Godfrey AKON
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to raise the national minimum wage from day one if elected in 2027, arguing that the current N70,000 wage has been eroded by rising costs of fuel, food, transportation and housing.
He also called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately review the present wage to reflect present day economic realities.
Atiku, in a statement on Sunday, issued by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said workers were being forced to cope with a sharp decline in their purchasing power despite the increase in the statutory minimum wage.
He challenged the Federal Government to agree to what he described as a substantial wage increase that reflects prevailing living costs.
Recall that the FG raised the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 in July 2024 after negotiations with organised labour. President Tinubu also said at the time that the wage would be reviewed after three years.
However, Atiku argued that the increase had failed to adequately protect workers from the effects of rising prices.
“At N1,400 a litre, the entire N70,000 monthly minimum wage buys just 50 litres of petrol. What does the worker take home to feed the children? What pays the rent? What gets that worker back to work on Monday?” the statement queried in part.
Atiku compared the purchasing power of the old and current wage levels, saying that at the April 2023 national average petrol price of N254.06 per litre, the sum of N30,000 could purchase about 118 litres, whereas N70,000 at N1,400 per litre would purchase about 50 litres.
“The payslip has grown, but the fuel it can buy has more than halved. Tinubu has given workers a larger number and left them with a smaller life. That is hardship dressed up as a wage increase,” he added.
The statement also criticised the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy was implemented before adequate protection was put in place for working families.
“The government pulled away the floor, offered workers a flimsy umbrella and now applauds itself while the rain beats down on them,” Atiku said.
Atiku also argued that Nigeria’s minimum wage compares unfavourably with those of some other African oil-producing countries when converted using the exchange rates cited in his statement.
He, however, acknowledged that wage structures and living costs differ from country to country, but maintained that such differences did not make N70,000 sufficient for Nigerian workers facing current prices.
Atiku challenged Tinubu to make his position on another wage increase clear, saying workers should not be subjected to prolonged negotiations without a definite outcome.
“If he has no intention of raising workers’ pay, he should say so plainly and stop stringing the Nigeria Labour Congress and other labour leaders along. Nigerian workers deserve an answer, not another round of meetings that ends where it began,” he added.
He promised that, if elected in 2027, his administration would begin work on raising the wage floor from its first day in office.
“I will begin the work of raising the wage floor from my first day in office,” Atiku assured.
“Where is Tinubu?”
In another development, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has questioned the absence of President Bola Tinubu from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Obi raised the question in a statement posted on his X handle on Sunday.
In the said statement, Obi praised Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama for his participation at the global gathering.
Mahama attended the 81st UN General Assembly in New York and addressed world leaders on issues affecting Ghana, Africa and the international community.
Reacting to Mahama’s appearance at the UN, Obi described the Ghanaian president’s address as a demonstration of what leadership could achieve when competence, capacity, compassion, commitment and character were brought together in the service of a country.
He then contrasted Mahama’s participation with Tinubu’s absence from the global meeting and questioned why the Nigerian President was not at the UN General Assembly.
“The dynamic President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, delivered a remarkable address at the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The international community has commended his leadership and the substance of his address,” Obi wrote.
“It is a reminder of what leadership can produce when competence, capacity, compassion, commitment and character come together in the service of a nation.”
Obi subsequently asked, “Where is the President of Africa’s most populous nation, a country of more than 200 million people – more than Ghana – whose leader has been absent from the global stage for three consecutive UNGAs?”
He argued that the Nigerian President should have been representing the country and providing leadership at an international gathering where major global and African issues were being discussed.
“Nigeria’s President, who ought to be representing the country and providing leadership for Africa at the international level, has not attended any of these three global gatherings,” Obi said.
“Where is he, particularly at a time when the country faces significant challenges, both domestically and internationally?”
