EDEx Vice President and former Presidential Aspirant, Atiku Abubakar has shown empathy for Nigerian workers who suffer untold hardship as a result of inflation and declining standards of living. He described the work conditions as hostile making saving and even survival impossible.
In his words: “Even what we call basic food items are unaffordable, and we are in a situation where the price of a bag of rice is nearly at par with the value of our minimum wage.”
The former Vice President added that the “increase in the national minimum wage has been matched or neutralised by astronomical inflation that is accelerating at a breathtaking pace almost daily. Even the locally produced foods are prohibitively expensive.”
“The Nigerian workers have never had it so bad. The impacts of the lockdown and worsening inflation have taken their heaviest toll on the working class. The situation is so bad that they are now living from hands to mouth.”
The Wazirin Adamawa also explained that in the face of low morale and poor motivation, productivity will inevitably take a nose dive.
”This situation”, he said, “will only create favourable conditions for corruption and aggravate depression and mental health problems among civil servants.”
”Let me be clear: these challenges of economic survival are not limited to the civil servants alone. They affect the working class at all levels, including artisans and other low income groups that are struggling desperately to put food on the table in the face of declining incomes and rising inflation.”
ED
