
By AKANBI ABDULAZEEZ
Kwara State, under the leadership of GOVERNOR ABDULRAHMAN ABDULRAZAQ, has approved the implementation of a ₦70,000 minimum wage, joining other states such as Lagos and Rivers.
The Director, University of Ilorin Affiliate at the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, DR. HADI MOSHOOD while featuring as Guest on today’s episode of the Diamond Breakfast Show, who welcomed the decision, expressed relief over the development but called for caution.
He had previously criticized the minimum wage committee for not setting a timeline for
implementation, stressing on the need for urgency to address the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
“Thank God that at last something has been touched, because when the committee was set up I came on air and condemned the fact that the committee was set up without a timeline. And then seeing an action like the decision on the minimum wage, is something that as to be speed up because of the battered economy and the kind of suffering the civil servants are going through, but when the committee was set up no time frame was given to them. So I came here to complain that the government should do something, so thank God he has gave assent to it and it would be implemented in October”.
“The area of transportation, the area of food importation have said it here the Kwara State government can find a way of going to Kaiama, patigi and get the rice production in patigi where the wheat and yam flour In kayama and the likes. And go to Kwara South and get tomatoes around there government should partner with all those people and bring this thing down at a very low price.
So that at the end of it all this minimum wage is going to be a minimum wahala because people already know that by October we are getting minimum wage which actually, if it isn’t something substantial the price of thing will go up and at the end of it all will be a wahala to the civil servants”.
DR. HADI also charged that the consequential adjustment table be made public to ensure that the wage increase is reflected across all levels of the civil service.
He conclusively, urged the government to collaborate with local food producers to reduce the cost of goods, emphasizing this as an essential to prevent the wage adjustment from becoming counterproductive.
The approval of the new minimum wage brings a glimmer of hope to civil servants across Kwara State and beyond, promising a much needed boost in their earnings, there is cautious optimism that the wage increase, coupled with targeted efforts to lower the cost of living, will help alleviate the economies strain and improve the overall well-being of workers.
Edited by Joseph EMERIBE