An industrialist, Dr Wale Adegbite, has appealed to the government to ensure improved infrastructure to ease payment of the N70, 000 minimum wage by the private sector.
Adegbite, a former Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ogun State Chapter, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Ota, Ogun.
According to him, provision of critical infrastructure like good roads, stable power supply, quick discharge of containers at the ports, among others will reduce the cost of production.
Adegbite noted that with the current economic situation in the country, it would be difficult for some manufacturers, especially the smaller ones, to pay the newly approved minimum wage.
“We urge the federal and state governments to provide improved infrastructure like good road, quick discharge of containers at ports, removal of toll collectors on our roads among others to ease the payment of the minimum wage for manufacturers,” he said.
He said that some manufacturers with unionised staff had started paying over N60,000 as a minimum wage when the palliative levy was added to minimum wage last year.
Adegbite appealed to manufacturers to comply with the payment of the new minimum wage.
NAN reports that the Federal Government and Organised Labour had on Thursday agreed on N70,000 as the new national minimum wage.
