A Niger Delta human rights activist, Israel Joe has reacted to the recent new minimum wage approved by the President Bola Tinubu government.
He called on the federal government to place politicians irrespective of their rankings in the country on seventy thousand naira minimum wage like civil servants.
Comrade Joe made the call in a statement sent to newsmen in Warri, Delta State
He argued that if ₦70,000, minimum wage is good for civil servants, it should also be good for politicians.
He stressed that citizens have equal rights to better living and welfare.
Joe, however, asked workers not to celebrate the increase in the minimum wage but to sorrow over it, saying, “My simple opinion is that the minimum wage can’t even purchase a bag of rice and we should not joy over what we should sorrow over.”
He expressed sadness that a country with so much wealth would have to pay its workforce a minimum wage of less than $50 (dollars).
“Our workers have finally settled for servitude and slavery.”
Comrade Joe appreciated the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, TUC for raising the bar to 100%.