Minimum Wage: Abbas pledges to ensure Nigerians get a survival wages

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, on Tuesday, says lawmakers will ensure that Nigerians get a survival wage that can take them home in the ongoing minimum wage review. 

Mr Abbas, represented by Busayo Oluwole-Oke, representing Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency, pledged in Abuja at the National Policy Dialogue on Corruption, Social Norms and Behaviour Change in Nigeria.

IdanNews learnt that the event was organised by the Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in collaboration with Anti- Corruption Academy of Nigeria and supported by the MacArthur Foundation.

The speaker, who pledged legislators’ support to the ICPC in its fight against corruption, however, said factors that encouraged or promoted the menace must be dealt with.

“For instance, the question around a survival wage system is a big factor. A situation where the take-home pay of a large segment of the population is unable to take them home is a recipe for all manners of corruption.

“This is why the House of Representatives is particularly interested in the ongoing review of minimum wage in the country. The House this time around will ensure that Nigerians get a survival wage that could take them home,” he said.

He said in many societies where corruption is low, social safety nets guarantee protection for the people, and Nigeria could do the same.

“I am sure we are familiar with the level of pressure Legislators undergo owing to a deluge of requests for financial and corollary assistance from our Constituents.

“Make no mistakes about it, this pressure is a fall out from the prevailing poverty rate,  precipitated by the factors mentioned above,” he said.

According to him, while changing social norms is essential for combating corruption effectively, lawmakers must equally address those circumstances that inform those behaviours.

The speaker said it was not enough to advocate a change of attitude or behaviour, as there must be deliberate government policy.

Similarly, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by his deputy chief of staff, Saviour Enyiekere, said fighting corruption was a complex and multifaceted challenge.

“For me, tackling corruption involves transparency and accountability; it is also about strengthening the legal frameworks.

“Nigeria is not lacking in such legal frameworks, and the 10th Senate under my leadership is positioned to bridge any existing legislative gaps in the fight against corruption.

“However, institutions like the ICPC must enforce comprehensive anti-corruption laws that criminalise corrupt activities and establish clear guidelines for ethical behaviours,” he said.

(NAN)