The Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Ebonyi Chapter, Prof. Egwu Oguguo, and other prominent residents of the state have called on the Federal Government to prioritise security and welfare of the ordinary Nigerians. The people made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakiliki yesterday.

They spoke against the backdrop of the recent proposal by the National Assembly (NASS) to raise the remuneration of political office holders in the country. They rejected the proposal and advised that it be dropped. Oguguo, a lecturer at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, said that such a proposal was anti-people and “against the law of natural justice”.

He described the proposal as “insensitive and unjustifiable, in view of Nigeria’s current economic situation”. According to him, the plan by government agencies, including the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), to raise the pay of political office holders at a time the N70,000 minimum wage had been eroded by inflation amounts to a show of disregard for the plight the ordinary Nigerians are going through.