TheCable

Kingsley Moghalu, presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), says there will be “massive” inflation if a minimum wage of over N30,000 is approved.

Organised labour is agitating for an increment of the present N18,000 minimum wage to N30,000, and a proposal to the effect has been submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Commenting on the development in an interview with journalists at the Workstation, Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said: “Paying a minimum wage of over N30,000 now will create massive inflation in the country.

“I stand with labour unions in their demand, and I also know that N18, 000 minimum wage is poverty wage, however in handling the economy, care must be taken to avoid decisions that may crumble it.

“If Nigeria has constant electricity alone, it will have tremendous positive impact on the economy.”

On the 2019 general election, Moghalu said inducement will play little or no part in deciding who wins.

According to him, some politicians may want to buy votes but Nigerians cannot be fooled any longer into selling their votes

Speaking about the country’s borders, he said Nigeria has lost significant part of its territorial control.

Moghalu said: “We need to properly demarcate our borders and man them efficiently, using combined border security forces.

“Our borders with Chad, Niger, Cameroun and Benin are so porous that we have so many non citizens troop in daily, commit crimes and leave undetected.”

The presidential candidate warned that if not handled well, it might affect the conduct of the 2019 elections, adding that INEC might not be able to hold elections in volatile areas.