Peter Obi says minimum wage doesn’t have to be universal

The Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi has said the minimum wage of workers should be decided by the state government and not labour.

According to Daily Post, Obi also said that the minimum wage doesn’t have to be universal but based on the realities on ground.

The former Governor of Anambra state said this while speaking on Channels TV, on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.

This is coming on the heels of a statement by state Governors saying that they cannot afford to pay the N30,000 recommended as the new minimum wage.

Speaking further, Obi said that Atiku Abubakar, if elected into power, will reach an agreement with labour to come up with a federal minimum wage.

“Minimum wage doesn’t have to be universal.

“I don’t believe that somebody In Lagos should earn the same thing as somebody who is in, maybe, Anambra State or somebody in Maiduguri.

“I argued that every state is not the same. I said every state is not the same; every state won’t pay the same

“There has to be a federal minimum, then each state, working within this minimum, can decide where they should go. That is what is obtainable all over the world.

“I am sure we will be able to come out with what is acceptable with Labour because I know we will sit down and discuss this constructively with the labour,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has announced that it will embark on a nation-wide strike on Tuesday, January 8, 2018.