The Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, says workers in the country deserve an improved salary in order to survive the current high cost of living.
The Speaker made the remark on Thursday, at a symposium organised in commemoration of the nation’s 63rd independence anniversary, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaker Abbas said paying workers well will help tackle cases of corruption in the country.
He said: “The discussants at the event have spoken on an important issue, which is that of coming up with a living wage which I believe is the foundation of a corrupt-free society.
“If a worker is paid well, he is paid enough to be able to afford his basic needs, which will help to eliminate corruption in a significant way. Because he does not need to steal to be able to feed his family, pay his rent or take his children to school.”
The Speaker stressed that the issue of salary must be properly addressed in order to balance the socio-economic realities of today.
“Today in the Nigerian project, this is what is completely absent particularly when we look at the socio-economic realities of today; the hyper-inflation, and the level of our wage; I don’t see how any Nigerian can be able to work in a transparent and effective manner.
“So I would like to call on this administration to please look into this issue. Let us for the very first time sit down and look at means and ways of coming up with an effective living wage system,” he advised.
The Speaker said if the government does so, Nigerians will be able to have enough to eat and meet other basic needs irrespective of their position.
“Unless we solve that problem, the issue of corruption will continue to be a mirage and the fight against corruption will not succeed,” he said.
Speaker Abbas used the opportunity to felicitate Nigerians as they celebrate Nigeria at 63.
Dominica Nwabufo
