High Minimum Wage Could Trigger Economic Challenges—Soludo

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Governor of Anambra State, Mr Chukwuma Soludo, has said the approval of a new minimum wage for workers in the country above a certain threshold by President Bola Tinubu could create chaos and lead to job losses.

The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned that not all state governments and the Organised Private Sector could pay the N62,000 proposed by the federal government let alone the N250,000 the labour is demanding.

Mr Soludo spoke on Wednesday at The Platform Nigeria, a programme by a Lagos-based church, Covenant Nation, to mark the 2024 Democracy Day.

The economist warned that an unsustainable wage might lead to job losses and spiral economic challenges in the country.

Mr Soludo argued that based on the best estimates, the revenue of the federal government won’t exceed N17 trillion this year and by calculations, this is not sustainable to meet certain demands.

“If you share it with all Nigerians, it comes to N6,160 per person, per month, per capita. If you take even the total N28. 7 trillion (budget) and share, it will come down to N10,000 per capita,” he said.

He argued that the private sector employs a huge percentage of the total workforce in the country and not all of them can pay the N62,000 proposed by the FG.

The governor said he spoke with nine entrepreneurs in his state and none of them could pay the proposed amount by Labour.

“The minimum wage thing, everybody is right. The worker is right to say, ‘What am I getting?’ Nobody is asking what a worker does. We are not asking that question yet. All we are saying is: ‘How much does he need?’ He (the worker) is right, and for me, even if we pay N1 million, it’s not enough.

“But on the other hand, you have to come back to reality; talking about these MSMEs, the schools, churches, and so on and so forth. You will have to pay your driver. We are all in it. Whatever they agree, we will muddle through but maybe after one year, we will need to meet to discuss the consequences.”

“I pity the President because it will all be on his head if the consequences come down, whatever it is, if whatever is negotiated unsustainable or payable or whatever. Months to come, who will bear the responsibility? Not me,” he quipped.