Gilbert Ekezie
The federal and state governments have been called upon to ensure the immediate payment of the newly agreed minimum wage of N30,000 to workers.
Archbishop of Lagos Province of the African Church, Most Rev. Julius Oludotun Ogunseye, made the call during a briefing to mark the second biannual congress of Lagos Province of the church, entitled: “In Him, we have our redemption,” at the Bethlehem Cathedral, Ebute Metta.
He said since the parties involved have agreed on the amount after series of negotiations, there is no need to delay it.
Ogunseye said the immediate compliance with payment of the wage by both the states and federal governments, will bring reprieve to Nigerian workers and advised the governments to end the speculations on whether payment of the wage is possible or not, saying after all, the minimum wage is not encouraging for Nigerian workers, judging by the cost of living.
The cleric also appealed to the Federal Government to curb spate of senseless killings currently ravaging many areas in the northern part of the country.
“The Federal Government should also expedite action on the war against insurgency, killings and other criminal activities in the North because there cannot be any meaningful development in the presence of security challenges in the country,” he said.
Also, the Provincial Vice Lay President of the Province, Dr. Segun Adenekan, called on governments to ensure payment of the minimum wage cuts across boards, stating that there would always be paucity of funds.
“The federal and state governments should curtail reckless spending and be more judicious in managing monies,” he said.
He also advised state governments to be circumspect and be more knowledgeable on increasing internally generated revenue (IGR).
“I stand to be quoted that our various state governments are lazy. They should look inwards in the state to find out those things that can increase their revenue generation, instead of depending on federal allocation to pay salaries,” he said.