N70,000 minimum wage can only buy a bag of rice – Ndume

The lawmaker representing Borno South, Senator Ali Ndume, is obviously not done with his criticism of President Bola Tinubu.

His criticism of the president had led to his removal as Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate.

His party had also asked him to quit and join an opposition party of his choice.

The lawmaker had accepted his removal in good fate, vowing not to stop telling the truth to power.

During an interactive session with journalists, Ndume was asked to comment on the N70,000 minimum wage which Tinubu convinced labour to accept.

“People are suffering, people are angry, people are not happy. I am happy that yesterday, the president agreed with NLC to increase the salary to N70,000, which is a good move, but it takes more than that because, realistically, that is like a bag of rice, money that will buy a bag of rice or cover the cost of a bag of rice.”

“So, I call on the president to still open up and listen to the people,” the lawmaker said.

Earlier, the lawmaker had described his action as patriotic, advising President Tinubu to listen to the cries of Nigerians and immediately address the concerned areas.

“I insist it is unpatriotic to stand by the president in whichever or whatever he does. It is patriotic to speak the truth not only to the president but also to anybody, for that matter. It is unpatriotic not to speak the truth to power or anybody and I still stand by that. In doing so, it is also known that God is always with the person that speaks the truth.

“So, I know that I am not wrong. The people are not wrong by speaking the truth and standing by the truth, and I pray that the president, who is now – I expect that the message has gotten to him – to look at what I have said and take appropriate measures to eliminate the sufferings of the people.”