Follow Us on Google
• Workers need living wage –Ex-VP • Nigeria deserves visible leadership amid challenge –Obi
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the presidentia candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, have both tackled President Bola Tinubu over his continued absence in the country amid rising hardship in the land.
Atiku has also expressed support for the demand by organised labour for a substantial increase in the minimum wage, saying Nigerian workers need living wage.
Atiku, in a statement by the Director, Strategic Communication, ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, accused Tinubu of allegedly presiding over a ruthless economic squeeze in which workers are paid more on paper and condemned to live on less.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), recently demanded for an upward review of the N70,000 minimum wage to enable workers meet with the rising cost of living.
Atiku, who is also a former vice president, noted that President Tinubu’s alleged reckless removal of the petrol subsidy sent prices of food and other essential items soaring before any credible protection was in place for working families.
According to him, “The government pulled away the floor, offered workers a flimsy umbrella and now applauds itself while the rain beats down on them. Fuel, transport, food and rent have devoured their earnings. This is a callous way to govern people who work hard and ask only for the means to live.
“Tinubu asked Nigerians to make sacrifices and treated the suffering that followed as an afterthought. Those with the least have been made to carry the heaviest load. That is the cruel arithmetic of this cost-of-living crisis,” Atiku said.
“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 ADC candidate stated that the increase of minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 by the government had failed to restore purchasing power. He explained that as of April 2023, national average petrol price of N254.06 per litre, N30,000 could buy roughly 118 litres, while today, N70,000 buys only 50 litres at N1,400 per litre.
Atiku noted that Nigeria’s wage floor compares poorly with those of several oil-producing and African economies, stating that using exchange rates from July 24, Libya’s monthly minimum wage was worth approximately N213,000; Algeria, N245,000; Equatorial Guinea, N302,000 and Gabon, N351,000. Even Benin Republic’s minimum wage stood above Nigeria’s when converted at those rates.
“The pay-slip 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.
“Wage rules and living costs differ across countries, but those differences cannot make N70,000 adequate for a Nigerian worker facing today’s prices.
“The Nigerian worker is the engine of this country’s productive life, yet Tinubu expects that engine to run without fuel. A worker leaves home before dawn, gives the country a full day’s labour, then stands at a bus stop wondering whether the money left will pay the fare home or put food on the family’s table.
“That is a national disgrace. You cannot work people to exhaustion, pay them into poverty and lecture them about productivity. If a full month’s wage cannot sustain a worker’s family, government has failed the people who keep this country moving,” he stated.
The former vice president challenged Tinubu to agree immediately to a substantial minimum-wage increase that reflects the real cost of food, transport, rent and power, stating that “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. I will begin the work of raising the wage floor from my first day in office.
“Tinubu has eight months left in this term. Nigerian workers cannot be told to endure eight more months of hunger while his government debates whether their wages are enough. He must raise the wage floor and bring down the costs crushing families. From May 2027, my policies will protect the people: support Nigerian production, deliver relief at the pump and provide targeted help to those hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis,” he said.
Furthermore, Atiku, who reaffirmed his commitment to realistic wage adjustments, targeted social protection and measures to stabilise the cost of essential goods and energy, stated that “if we are serious about repairing the damage, better pay must be accompanied by lower living costs. Anything less, leaves the Nigerian worker as the guinea pig in Tinubu’s economic experiment.”
Other News
He added: “Nigerians do not eat FAAC figures. A full treasury is no answer to an empty kitchen. The test of this government is whether the men and women who work all month can live on what they earn.
“A living wage must buy a living. It is not a privilege; it is a basic right. Tinubu has made life painfully expensive. I will make life affordable again.”
However Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, has faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s continued absence from major international engagements, arguing that Nigeria requires visible presidential leadership at home and on the global stage, particularly at a time of mounting economic and security challenges.
Obi raised the concern on Sunday while reacting to the address delivered by Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama at the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
He contrasteºd Mahama’s participation with Tinubu’s absence from the gathering, noting that the Nigerian President has stayed away from the UNGA for three consecutive years.
“Here is the remarkable address delivered by Ghana’s dynamic President, John Dramani Mahama, at the 81st UNGA,” Obi wrote.
“As the international community commends this distinguished leader, many are asking: 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?”
Tinubu attended the UN General Assembly in 2023, his first year in office, but has since delegated Vice President Kashim Shettima to represent Nigeria at the annual gathering.
Obi said the President’s repeated absence was particularly concerning given what he described as the significant domestic and international challenges confronting Nigeria.
“Nigeria’s President, who ought to be representing and guiding the continent at the international level, has not attended any of these three global gatherings. Where is he, particularly at a time when the country faces significant challenges both domestically and internationally?” he asked.
Although Shettima represented Nigeria at this year’s UNGA and delivered the country’s national statement, Obi argued that the Vice President’s presence did not remove questions about Tinubu’s own absence.
“Although our Vice President, Kashim Shettima, was present, the question remains: where is the President?”
Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency initially announced as a three-week working vacation in Europe as part of his annual leave.
The State House subsequently announced that the vacation had been extended by a few days, saying the President spent his first week in London before moving to Paris, where he held meetings, including engagements with French President Emmanuel Macron and businessman Vincent Bolloré.
The Presidency has maintained that Tinubu remained in touch with developments at home and continued to direct affairs of state while abroad, while delegating Shettima and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, to represent him at official engagements.
Obi, however, centred his criticism on the importance of the President’s personal presence at major international gatherings, particularly given Nigeria’s population, regional influence and the challenges confronting the country.
His remarks followed Mahama’s appearance at the UNGA, which Obi held up as an example of the visibility he believes Nigeria’s leadership should demonstrate internationally.
Reports of Obi’s statement on Sunday similarly quoted him as questioning Tinubu’s absence from the 81st UNGA and the wider global stage.
The former Anambra State governor nevertheless urged Nigerians to continue praying for the President and for effective leadership in addressing the country’s problems.
“Let us continue to pray for his return and for his leadership in addressing the many challenges confronting the nation, but let us hope that a New Nigeria is possible and will be O-K,” Obi said.
