Speaker Advocates Review Of Salaries For Workers

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Tajudeen Abbas, has advocated review of salary for workers in the country.

Mr Abbas, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Abdullahi Krishi says it has become imperative to take a look at what an average worker will need to be paid as salary in view of the current economic reality.

He notes that there is need to also come up with a living wage that will take care of the basics of a person such that he will not have to look outside his lawful income.

He urged Government to use the UK experiment or the Western world.

”Fundamentally, what they did was to sit down and say let’s look at what an average worker would need to be paid as salary and came up with a living wage that will take care of the basics of a person.

“Today, if you’re a labourer in London, you will be paid enough for you to go and pay your rent, take care of your basics and still be able to have a fairly good living. With that kind of incentive, you don’t need to go and borrow, you don’t need to go and beg, you don’t need to go and steal”.

Speaking on the war against corruption, the Speaker said the country’s anti-corruption drive must also be strengthened for meaningful progress to be recorded.

“For us to wage a war on corruption, we need to create an enabling environment where each and every one of us will be able to operate transparently without having to steal, without having to intimidate, without having to go and beg or to borrow. That is the beginning of the reform.

The Speaker also advocated for cultural revolution where a man maintains a family that he is able to take care of at a point in time.

“If your income can allow you to marry only one wife, you have to be restrained from taking more than one wife. If your income can allow you to take care of only four children, for example, you should restrain yourself”.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji