Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to reject any minimum wage offer from the federal government that is less than ₦250,000. In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja, Frank criticized President Bola Tinubu for proposing a 300 percent salary increase for judicial officeholders while negotiating a lower minimum wage for workers.
Frank accused President Tinubu of failing to fulfill his 2023 promise of providing a living wage for Nigerian workers. He argued that the executive, legislative, and judicial branches should reduce their salaries and allowances to better support workers who struggle to afford basic necessities.
“How can you increase the salary of an arm of government that is already earning a humongous salary by 300 percent and add peanuts to the paltry ₦30,000 that workers have been compelled to live within this country as minimum wage in the last five years?” Frank questioned. He urged labor leaders to remain steadfast in demanding a fair living wage, emphasizing that anything below ₦250,000 would be inadequate given the current economic hardships.