PDP Urges NLC: Settle for Nothing Less Than N120,000 Minimum Wage

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged organized labor not to settle for anything less than N120,000 as the minimum wage.

The PDP argues that the Federal Government has no valid excuse for not meeting this threshold.

The strike stemmed from their rejection of the government’s N60,000 minimum wage offer, far lower than their demand of N494,000.

The opposition party, PDP, is backing the workers’ cause. Their deputy spokesperson, Ibrahim Abdullahi, accused the ruling APC of being dishonest in negotiations.

He argued that the government’s spending on other projects proves that they can afford a higher minimum wage.

Abdullahi said, “The back and forth with the labour leaders is hypocritical of the government. They didn’t mean well for Nigerians from the word go, even when they started engaging the NLC. 

It was not an intended policy direction. It was something that was made as a smokescreen to continue to deceive the Nigerian workers and, of course, the nation.

“They can build expensive roads and send officials on trips,” Abdullahi said. “Why can’t they offer a fair wage?”

“With the lies the APC is telling us, if they can afford to construct a road for N3tn, if they can afford to do all this jamboree if they can afford to take 1,500 government officials out of this country for things that are not important, then I don’t know why, for crying out loud, they should not be able to pay a reasonable minimum wage.

However, the APC calls the PDP’s support for a higher wage “unpatriotic.” Their spokesperson, Bala Ibrahim, claims the PDP is simply upset about losing the last election. 

He also argued that the N494,000 minimum wage demanded by labor unions is unreasonable, especially considering Nigeria’s high unemployment rate and limited resources.

Ibrahim urged the unions to be more realistic and consider the impact on everyday Nigerians who aren’t salaried workers.

With both sides dug in, the strike shows no signs of immediate resolution. How long it will last remains unclear or what a compromise might look like.