Subsidy Removal: NULGE demands 300% minimum wage increment

Tamarauemi Ebimini

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has called for 300 per cent increment in the minimum wage for workers across all sectors due to the inflation caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

NULGE National President, Mr Ambali Olatunji, said this in a communique jointly signed by Mr Isah Gambo, General Secretary of the union, at the end of its regular National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday in Abuja.

Olatunji said that the 300 per cent rise was imperative considering the inflation necessitated by the removal of fuel subsidy on local government staff.

Accordingly to him, it is the position of NULGE that there should be 300 per cent rise in the minimum wage for all Local Government workers and other public servants including private sector workers.

He also said that considering the overbearing posture of the state governors on local government which had left it prostrate in the country, there was a need for a state of emergency to be declared on local government administration.

This, he said would address the infrastructural decay, poverty and state of unemployment across the local governments in the country.

Olatunji also said that the government as a matter of urgency should create a special intervention fund to take care of the aforementioned social welfare and infrastructural decay through the Ministry of Special Duty.

NUGLE’s boss said that the proposed fund should be able to cater for projects and programmes in conjunction with local government.

Olatunji also urged the government to utilise the 800 million dollars from World Bank to provide mass transit and other interventions, especially in the automobile spare parts companies, to cater for the transport need of the masses.