Edo Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, has kicked against the bill seeking to switch minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list, urging the sponsors of the bill in the National Assembly to step it down.
He told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Benin, that rather than sponsor such a bill, the lawmaker should move motions and sponsor bills that will support programmes geared toward finding lasting solutions to the problems of insecurity in the country.
“Let us all discuss the issue of insecurity and make our cities, communities and country secure”, Shuaibu said, noting that the issue of economy is all about security and there would be no investor if the safety of investments is not guaranteed.
“The economy of this country needs to work. That is why all of us, the legislative and the executive arms, need to actually come together to fashion a way forward, to deal with the issue of insecurity.
“For me, when you seek first all the indices that make an economy work, then prosperity will be the order of the day and all other smaller issues will be dealt with. But when your economy is in shambles, then obviously, poverty will reign supreme”.
Shuaibi emphasized the need for lawmakers to legislate on issues that would unite the country rather than those that would further divide it and bring about chaos.
While noting that this was not the time to bring up issues as contained in the bill, he urged the National Assembly to concern itself with the issue of insecurity.
Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has scheduled next week Wednesday for a national protest against the bill, which had already passed through the first reading at the National Assembly.
