By Chimezie Anaso

The Federal Government has commended Chief Akai Egwuonwu, an Anambra based industrialist, for complying with the new national minimum wage for his employees.

Mrs Benedene Oji-Ogbuehi, State Controller, Federal Ministry of Labour, presented the commendation letter to Egwuonwu in his Awka office on Thursday.

Egwuonwu is the Managing Director of Stine Rice Mill and Zara Departmental Stores among others.

Oji-Ogbuehi said the recognition was in appreciation of his efforts to enhance the welfare of his workers and to encourage others to follow suit.

She said that it was necessary to commend the industrialist for leading the way for other private sector players to comply with the new wage policy in Anambra.

“The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in Anambra commends you for being the first in the private sector to implement the new National Minimum Wage for your workers, despite the economic situation of Nigeria.”

She said apart from meeting the new minimum wage policy, the industrialist had demonstrated love for humanity by considering the wellbeing of his staff.

In his response, Egwuonwu said that increasing the wage of workers has become imperative given the increasing cost of living and falling purchasing power.

He said N70,000 was a far cry from what was needed to meet basic needs of the average worker in the current economy and called on businesses to give their workers minimum comfort.

Egwuonwu called in governments to provide better operating environment to enable businesses survive, assuring that the new wage would reach no fewer than 2,000 workers across his chain of companies.

“This was borne out of necessity, the N70,000 is actually not enough for anybody to live on in current Nigeria. A plate of food is N1,500, bag of rice is N92,000, they must look good and survive well. For them to meet these needs, I think the minimum should be N150,000 per month.

“Doing business in Nigeria today is not easy, we expect the government to provide enabling environment for us. We need cheaper energy, good roads, lesser price for fuel for cheaper transportation as well as tax holidays.(NAN)

Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz