Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has urged the Nigerian government to urgently review wages and carry out wide-ranging economic reforms.
He warned that deteriorating economic conditions continue to undermine the value of labour and intensify hardship for citizens.
In a statement marking Workers’ Day on his handle on Friday, Obi lauded workers across various sectors, describing them as key to national survival.
“Workers are the backbone of every nation,” he said, adding that Nigerian workers “continue to sustain our families, communities, institutions and national economy, even in the face of severe hardship and uncertainty.”
He was worried about the falling value of wages with inflation and the cost of living increasing.
“It is deeply painful that those who rise each day to teach, heal, build, farm, produce, transport, protect and serve our nation are still denied the dignity and fair reward their labour deserves,” he said.
Obi warned that the current minimum wage is no longer enough for a decent standard of living.
“In the present-day Nigeria, the minimum wage can no longer afford the barest minimum of living, as inflation, increased cost of food, transportation and economic hardship continue to erode the value of honest work,” he observed.
He stressed the significance of human capital, stating, “No nation can genuinely progress beyond the capabilities, output, and welfare of its labor force. When workers suffer, so does the nation. Empower the workers and the nation flourishes.”
“Governance is not only about economic issues alone, Obi called on workers to be actively involved in contributing to the democratic process of governance.
“They owe it to themselves, to their children, to their children’s children to support and demand leadership that is based on competence, character, capacity, credibility and compassion,” he said.
He concluded by calling for a “fairer society, based on justice, on respect for labour” “A productive nation must be built on justice, fairness and respect for labour. This is the Nigeria we must work together to build.”
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