EKO HOT BLOG reports that a non-governmental organisation, Safe and Better Nigeria, has stated that regulating the prices of goods and services, rather than increasing the minimum wage, is the key to addressing the nation’s economic challenges.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Solomon Charles Ikpaka, the group urged both organised labour and the Federal Government to develop a concrete plan for regulating the prices of goods and services.
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Released on Monday in Yenagoa, the statement highlighted that the continuous rise in prices is causing severe hardship for citizens, making the country increasingly unlivable.
Ikpaka expressed concern that people are dying daily, crime rates are soaring, and the weak naira is limiting purchasing power both locally and internationally. He emphasized that Nigerians are being driven to desperate measures for survival.
Ikpaka warned that agreeing on a new minimum wage without addressing inflation will lead to renewed agitation from civil servants in a few years due to the persistent rise in commodity prices.
He noted that even staple items like garri, sugar, groundnuts, and sachet water, which were once affordable, have become too expensive due to inflation.
Ikpaka said, “In some parts of the country, especially in Delta State, people no longer accept five naira and N10 as legal tenders because there is nothing in Nigeria that’s being sold for ten naira.
“People can no longer afford the cost of transportation, school fees and other basic things in the country. Organised labour should be patriotic this time and do something that will benefit the whole country, especially those who are not receiving salary from the Federal Government so that Nigeria can be peaceful and conducive for the poor and the destitute to dwell in.”
He pointed out that in a normal economy, a salary of only N10,000 monthly could go a long way in sustaining a large home and it was about time those who matter in Nigeria sat down to analyse the nation’s problems with a view to coming up with lasting solutions.
Ikpaka said the leadership of SBN was concerned about the developments in the country and desired to see a Nigeria where the economy was strong, prices of goods and services were stable and the people did not need to have millions of naira before they could live comfortably.
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The group called on all governors and members of the National and State Assemblies to look at the issues presented by the group critically.
The group also called on President Bola Tinubu to be kindhearted and pay attention to the issues fueling the new minimum wage protests by organised labour with a view to addressing them once and for all so that Nigeria would not disintegrate in his time.
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