As Nigerian Government and organized labour continue to hit the polity on the increase of workers’ minimum wage, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain and former Delta State Gubernatorial aspirant, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has insinuated that the solution to Nigeria economic problem is not increase in minimum wage, but deflation of the economy.
Recall that as at Friday, the Federal Government has stated that they will be able to pay N62,000 as minimum wage, which is N2,000 above their initial offer of N60,000, while Nigeria organized labour has stepped down their demand from N494,000 to N250,000 per month. Meanhile, both parties have not arrived at final solution.
Reacting to the imbroglio between both parties, Onuesoke in a telephone chat with our correspondent disclosed that the increment of wage will not solve the economic problem in the country, but it will rather increase it.
Hear him, “Nigerians are getting it wrong. What Nigeria wanted is deflation. If you increase the salary to one million Naira today, the prices of goods and services will keep increasing. The more you increase the minimum wage, the more it goes ‘pari pasu’ with the increase of goods and services. The average person who is not in the civil service but produce food items like pepper, tomatoes, yam, garri etc will increase his produce.
“Wage increase cannot match resolve the inflation rate because as there is more salary increase, there are more currency in circulating in the system. When there is more currency flow in the system, the prices of goods and services will keep increasing. It is a simple economic theory. The more increases in workers’ salaries, the more you will build up the high inflation rate.
“The country is not being control by only civil servants alone. The civil servant is just 14% of those providing services in Nigeria. They are insignificant margin. When you are thinking of civil servants, the private sectors are not address as civil servants. There is no private sector that will be able to pay that amount of money as salary monthly.”
He explained that what Nigerians need right now is the reduction of the inflation rate to the extent that even if a worker is receiving N20,000 thousands as minimum wage, he should be able to pay his rent and take care of other responsibilities comfortably.
To reduce the inflation rate, the PDP Chieftain urged the Government to intensify building of new low cost houses for the common man, subsidise it and mortgage it to be paid for the period of their life time.
“The people need social infrastructure that will downsize, that will deflate, that will reduce the hard side of their hardship. What I am saying is that the Federal Government and state governors should intensify massive agricultural and housing programme. They should subsidise and reduce the cost of education. Health insurance should be all embracing.
“Our problem is that we are giving projection without knowing the data base of Nigerians. If you ask our leaders how many acres of land will produce certain quantity of cassava, they don’t know it. But they go on air to produce certain figures borrowed from armchair economic or from their brain.
“Each local government should be able to have 80,000 acres of farm land of cassava. Yam, maize, rice etc. They should fix the refineries. What stops the country not to fix the four refineries till tomorrow? Is it a problem to fix the refineries? Why are we importing refined products and we are number six oil producing country in the world,” he queried.
