A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Hycienth Ngwu, has urged governors, particularly those in the South-East, to emulate their counterparts in Imo and Ebonyi by paying reasonable minimum wages.
Ngwu, a former South-East Publicity Secretary of the APC, made the call on Friday in Enugu.
The Imo Government on Tuesday approved N104,000, while the Ebonyi Government on Wednesday approved N90,000 as the new basic salary for civil servants.
Ngwu, a foundation member of the party, described the decisions as commendable.
“I commend the directives of the Governors of Imo and Ebonyi States to raise the salaries of their civil servants to a meaningful level,” he said.
According to him, the move demonstrates that APC governments, both at the national and sub-national levels, are committed to cushioning the temporary hardship being felt by citizens.
The APC chieftain explained that the hardship was a consequence of the implementation of well-meaning economic reforms aimed at repositioning Nigeria’s economy for sustainable and resilient growth.
*“I encourage the governors of Abia, Anambra and Enugu States to emulate the two governors in the APC platform and increase the basic salaries of their civil servants to cushion the present economic transition challenges.
“In fact, the Imo template should be copied and overtaken by the other states.
“Civil servants spending impacts positively on local economies in diverse ways.
“And when the salaries go up, the spending goes up and families and petty business owners are happier and well-off,”* he said.
Ngwu added that *“these laudable moves by both governors impact positively on individuals, families and collective productivity of the people.
“There is no gainsaying that both the monthly federal allocations to states and their internally generated revenues have risen significantly.
“This is providing the capacity to sustain higher salaries and fund infrastructure development.”*
(NAN)