Soludo Cautions against Unsustainable Minimum Wage

Governor, Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State,

has warned that not all state governments and the Organised Private Sector can pay the ₦62,000 being proposed by the Federal Government and the ₦250,000 demand of the Organised Labour.

Soludo, a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor made the statement on Wednesday at The Platform Nigeria, a programme by Lagos-based church, Covenant Nation, to mark the 2024 Democracy Day.

According to Soludo, an unsustainable wage might result in job losses and spiral economic challenges in the country.

He noted that the Federal Government revenue would not exceed ₦17 trillion this year, adding that “If you share it to all Nigerians, it comes to ₦6,160 per person, per month, per capita. If you take even the total ₦28. 7 trillion (budget) and share, it will come down to ₦10,000 per capita.”

Soludo pointed out that the private sector employs a huge percentage of the total workforce in the country, but noted that not all of them can pay the ₦62,000 proposed by the Federal Government.

“The minimum wage thing, everybody is right. The worker is right to say, ‘What am I getting?’ Nobody is asking what does a worker do? We are not asking that question yet. All we are saying is: ‘How much does he need?’ He (the worker) is right, and for me, even if we pay N1 million, it’s not enough.

“But on the other hand, you have to come back to reality; talking about these MSMEs, the schools, churches, so on and so forth. You will have to pay your own driver. We are all in it. Whatever they agree, we will muddle through but may be after one year, we will need to meet to discuss the consequences.”

“I pity the President because it will all be on his head if the consequences come down, whatever it is, if whatever is negotiated unsustainable or payable or whatever. Months to come, who will bear the responsibility? Not me”, Soludo said.