Minimum wage against consumption — MAN

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has said Nigeria’s minimum wage of N30,000  (about $78.29) is about the lowest in the Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs), saying it does not encourage consumption.

This was contained in the Executive Summary Bi-Annual Review of the Economy (July – December, 2020) conducted by the Association’s Research and Advocacy Support Division.

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The review stressed the need to focus on payment of staff salaries and outstanding contracts sums on completed projects, and construct a critical generational pricing model for the economy that will recognize changes in inflation, exchange rate, lending rate in the determination of wages.

It also called for a reverse of the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate to 5percent from the current 7.5per cent.

The association also called for sensitization of manufacturers on the current feasibility of the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMED) and N300bn Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF) and how they can be accessed.

It called for unification of all forex windows in Nigeria while recommending downward review of the current increment in electricity tariff, high cost of transportation and the current increment in fuel pump-price.