The Senator representing Edo North district in the 10th Senate, Adams Oshiomhole, has described Nigeria’s N30,000 monthly minimum wage as a “criminal wage”, saying he pays his cleaner with only primary school education N60,000.
Oshiomhole said this on Sunday night while featuring on Channels TV’s politics programme.
“What we call minimum wage is a criminal wage,” he said.
Speaking further, the former leader of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said, “If you exchange N30,000 at N800 or N700 to the dollar, what does that translate to? So, the value of that minimum wage when it was N125 – when it was first introduced under, I think, (Shehu) Shagari’s government – is about two times or three times the value many years later, even in the public service.”
According to him, he decided to pay his cleaner N60,000 because he could not bring himself to do less.
“I can tell you what I have decided to pay my cleaner. My cleaner is just a primary school – I’m not sure she has even a school leaving certificate. But she’s knowledgeable enough to clean the house,” he said.
“I found myself unable to pay her less than N60,000 – in fact, N60,000. It’s about my conscience. I’m trying to imagine what she has to pay for a house. She told me she has four children.
“I’m trying to imagine how she has to look after those children and I cannot question why she should have four children.”
The former Edo State governor is in the ruling All Progressives Congress.
