Pay workers living wage, Sterling Bank chairman tells FG

THE chairman of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Asue Ighodalo, has called on the Federal Government to ensure that workers are paid “a living wage” in order to give their best in service delivery to the nation.

He made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the public lecture marking the 2017 Federal Civil Service Week, where an Economist, with Lagos Business School, Dr Doyin Salami, has described the current high rate of youth unemployment in Nigeria as a time bomb.

Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, however, said the Federal government was already working on the new minimum wage for workers under a committee chaired by the Minister of Labour and Productive, Dr Chris Ngige.

The Sterling MD, who decried the poor working condition of workers in Nigeria, said it was an abnormality that civil servants who are the engine room of government receive “take home pay that cannot take them home”.

Speaking as one of the discussants at the public lecture delivered by Dr Doyin Salami, Ighodalo, urged the Head of Service of the Federation, to push for establishment of a Civil Service Welfare Fund, in the country that workers could fall back on during and after retirement from service.

He said to achieve maximum productivity, conducive environment should be provided for the public servants to be happy at work, saying there was decline in workers’ productivity because of the low remuneration and appalling condition in which the public servants work in Nigeria.

The Guest Lecturer, Dr Doyin Salami, said Nigeria needs to create about 3 million jobs annually in order to resolve the current challenge of high youth unemployment in the country.

He said it was unfortunate that less than half of the 3 million jobs is created in the country with 8 to 10 per cent of the jobs from the informal sector, Salami said is characterized by low wages, lack of job security and uncertainty, among others.

He spoke while delivering the public service lecture entitled: “Entrenching a Citizen-centred Service Delivery Culture; partnering with the youth for Africa’s transformation.

He added this high level of youth unemployment was responsible for the youth reactiveness, upheaval, militancy and crimes in the society.

He said: “With a consistent deepening of poverty, which has been going south 70℅ since 2010, and a population that is almost growing in geometric proportions, we are spiralling towards the demographic time bomb faster than we know.

“Complicating this picture is the fact that the Nigerian population, at over 186 million from 2016 estimates, is quite top heavy, with a very youthful population (from the age of 24 down) constituting almost 65% of the total, and a median age of 18,” he said.

He noted that with an annual growth rate of about 2.7 per cent, Nigeria is among the 10 fastest growing populations in the world, revealing a continuously swelling youth bulge that is leaping faster than the resources available to cater for and this plans being made for them.

He advised the Federal government to take the issue of youth unemployment with the utmost seriousness and swiftness that is deserves.

He said the Federal Government must enforce the provision of Section 16.2 (d) of Chapter of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This section of the Constitution provides, “that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens”.

The discussants at the public lecture also emphasised the need to incorporate the youth in planning and execution of programmes for them.

The Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, in her remarks, reiterated the commitment of the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, and Acting President, Processor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to revamping the Federal civil service in Nigeria.

She said there was the deliberate policy by the current administration to partner with the private sector in the reform process of the civil service.

Oyo-Ita, disclosed that there was plan for industry exchange programme, where people from the private sector were brought into the civil service for a period of time while civil servants were also given opportunity to work in the private sector.