“It’s Unacceptable” – PDP Blasts APC, FG Over Move To Slash Workers’ Salary

• “Our party rejects the baseless argument that the move to cut salaries is necessitated by dwindling revenue to finance the national budget”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned the federal government against implementing its plan of downward review of workers’ pay.

Recall that Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, had said the federal government directed the National Salaries, Incomes & Wages Commission (NSIWC) to review salaries of civil servants and some federal agencies.

She said the government sought to evenly redistribute wages across board, noting that the review would bring about equity and fairness in salary structure within government agencies.

“What we seek to achieve is to create fairness and equity and to reduce cost. With this readjustment, when finally done, workers in the public service will earn a fair and equitable wages.” she said

Reacting to the development, PDP expressed its opposition to the move, noting that it was privy to information that the review was aimed at slashing workers salary.

“The PDP alerts that intelligence at its disposal indicates that leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) recommended the widely condemned move to slash workers’ meagre salaries, despite the current excruciating economic hardship which the APC administration had plunged our nation in the last six years,” the party said in a statement by Kola Ologbondiyan, its spokesman, on Sunday.

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PDP said the argument that salary cut was imperative and needed to shore up declining revenue and also enable government to fulfil its fiscal obligation was unfounded

“The PDP describes as wicked and completely unacceptable that APC leaders could go after workers’ salaries even after their party, the APC, had endorsed the increase in the cost of fuel, electricity and other tariffs, leading to the steeply rise in the cost of food and other essential commodities beyond the reach of millions of Nigerians.

“Our party rejects the baseless argument that the move to cut salaries is necessitated by dwindling revenue to finance the national budget.

“Rather than impose more hardship on our workers, the APC and its administration should realign the budget by removing their padded figures as well as end the exposed looting in the integrated payment system, where trillion of naira are being siphoned through non-existent workers and overheads.” Ologbondiyan said.

It implored the federal government to get competent hands to save the economy from imminent collapse through wealth creation and other people-oriented programmes and policies.

The PDP added that a salary cut will also “trigger an immediate negative spiral effect, particularly with the escalated cases of terrorism and other social vices, confronting our nation”.

“Our party counsels the Buhari administration to leave workers salary alone and seek help by getting more capable hands to manage our economy and create wealth instead of plunging Nigerians into more hardship,” he added.