Catholic priest Ejike Mbaka suggested that governors and members of the National Assembly should also be entitled to the proposed N62,000 minimum wage set by the federal government.
Mbaka made this assertion during an interview with AIT on Saturday, in response to the demands for a new minimum wage by organised labour.
Following the failure of the federal government to meet their demand for a new minimum wage, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) embarked on an indefinite strike, causing disruptions to essential services.
However, the organised labour temporarily suspended the industrial action for one week to facilitate negotiations with the federal government on the new minimum wage.
Negotiations between the federal government and organised labour resumed on June 6, resulting in the proposal of the new wage.
Commenting on this development, Mbaka highlighted the lack of transparency regarding the salaries of National Assembly members, which has sparked speculation and debate among Nigerians.
Mbaka said, “We can push these poor Nigerians to the point of rebellion. That is my fear. All of us were in Lagos that day, we couldn’t come back.
“Just like a joke the labour people entered into the airport and stopped every operation and if this happen again it might tantamount to what nobody dreams or what we dream but out of fear we cannot release to the public.
“If we decide to give labour N60,000 or N62,000, why not generalise it to the house of assembly members, senatorial members, house of representative members, and governors?
”All of them are civil servants. So, are the others slaves? I cannot imagine why somebody can be amassing billions and billions as sitting allowance, wardrobe allowance, newspaper allowance, vehicle allowance and what they call suffering allowance.
“The people that should have such allowances should be the poor masses in the villages.
“As teachers, how much are they being paid? Our nurses and doctors, how much are they being paid? Let us be realistic, our civil servants that wake from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
“They wake up early and return late. How much are they being paid. And look at the level of inflation in the country.”
Mbaka asked the government to “speedily” address the minimum wage issue with the organised labour to avoid another strike.
The cleric said it is a matter of handling the bull by the horn tactfully but very speedily because “if they are not careful, this crisis of a thing can be hijacked and nobody knows the ripples effect.”