A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Kingsley Moghalu, says Nigeria’s productivity level cannot support the ₦494,000 minimum wage demanded by the Organised Labour.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, hours after the Organised Labour relaxed its strike, Moghalu recommended a wage of between ₦75,000 and ₦100,000.
He said the debates on national wages in Nigeria miss the fundamental point which is the fact that there is little or no productivity in the economy.
If the country is truly productive he said, there is no reason why it can’t have the kind of minimum wage of 400, 000 or 500,000 naira that Labour wants.
The minimum wage he maintained is not just about salaries of the two to three million civil servants in Nigeria but even more about what is paid in the private sector, to household staff and other categories of workers.
All these factors he said must be considered including avoiding a minimum wage that multiplies already ravaging inflation even when such a wage can be paid.