2023: Labour Party promises new minimum wage for Nigerian workers

The Labour Party has promised to implement a new minimum wage of N80,000 to N100,000 for Nigerian workers if the party should emerge victorious in the 2023 presidential election.

TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Labour Party’s Deputy National Chairman, Ayo Olorunfemi disclosed this on Thursday following the release of the party’s manifesto.

Recall that the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi is pushing for the payment of hourly wages as against the current monthly format in the country.

Olorunfemi said the Labour Party is looking at implementing a new minimum wage of between N80,000-N100,000 as against the N30,000 obtainable presently.

“It depends on the nature of the job that would be given out. For instance, when you take a cursory look at the manual labourer out there, he does not take less than N2,500-N3,000 per day which is still not okay as far as the reward system is concerned. If you divide N3,000 by six hours, you will be talking about N500 per hour”.

“So, when you benchmark that against what we have now, certainly, you would be talking of something within the range of N500-N1,000 per hour depending on the nature of work, and at the end of the day, someone can effectively say that he can make up to N4,000 in a day. And when you multiply N4,000 in a day by 20 or 25, we are talking about N80,000 or N100,000 in a month,” he said.

When asked to further clarify his comment, the LP chieftain maintained that the party is eyeing “N80,000-N100,000” as a new monthly minimum wage, noting that “that is exactly where we are going!”

Olorunfemi further said the present N30,000 minimum wage does not reflect the realities, saying the Labour Party would pluck holes and exploit new ways to ensure the new wage structure is implemented if the party wins next year’s polls.

He stated “As a matter of fact, you know the amount of oil in the name of oil theft that has been leaving this country,” adding “We know where these things are coming from. They say there is no money but we know these monies have been stashed in the rooms or toilets of a few persons.”