Saraki Media Aide Shuts Down Social Media platforms, Provides Details of Kwara State’s Economy in the Past and Now

An article written by Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki’s media aide Mr. AbdulGaniyu AbdulQadir, has been widely generating noise on the social media in Kwara State since yesterday.

The article, which is a lengthy essay, focuses on the relationship between the Minimum Wage and economic reality.

Mr AbdulGaniyu AbdulQadir’s ideas were inspired by ongoing issues that aim to compare past and present administrations in the state. He seeks to provide clear evidence linking his boss to the recently approved N70,000 minimum wage, questioning whether the amount is appropriate given the current economic hardship.

Mr AbdulGaniyu AbdulQadir borrowed from Mr Dakuku Peterside’s idea, a Public Sector expert who said the issue of minimum wage or salary increase, or by whatever nomenclature it is articulated, is a complicated policy issue. The wage increase is neither good nor bad, but as a policy choice, it must be tied to some ultimate objective and benchmarked against the projected cost of living and inflationary trends over a given period.

He said “”If we are to go by this – except we shy away from the truth – the newly approved minimum wage by the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq administration in Kwara State is a wage far from reality. This is not to demean the ruling government’s effort, but rather, profoundly assess the wage in relation to their purchasing power. The Abdulrazaq administration cannot reasonably pride itself on the payment of N70,000 at this age and time when the Nigerian currency has been battered to its lowest and inflation is at a record high. We are living in a time when people crave a return to the good old days and not the present age. Not even Abdulrazaq – except for his personal gain – prefers 2024 to 2004

He said in 2003 when Saraki assumed office as Governor, Kwara State was in 33rd position out of the 36 states of the federation in revenue allocation. The state’s internally generated revenue was comatose, yet Saraki’s government lived up to expectations by paying the N7,500 minimum wage. As of 2011, when he completed his 8 years in office, the minimum wage in Kwara was N9,050. In fact, in April 2011, barely two months after the Senate passed the N18,000 minimum wage act and a month before he left office, Saraki had already set up the minimum wage review committee. The new wage came into effect that same year.

It is important to state that during his years in office, the value of the naira to the dollar hovered around N120 to N151. The price of PMS, a key economic index in Nigeria, was N65, while the average inflation rate for 2011 was 10.9%. Within this period, he completely executed developmental projects and instituted a blueprint for the government, which spurred the turnaround in Kwara.

Today, there are no known economic indices that can show that the N70,000 to be paid by Arakunrin Abdulrazaq will accord the people an improved standard of living. I dare the Abdulrazaq tink-tank to dispute this. It is laughable that the Abdulrazaq government takes public delight in the consideration of N70,000 as suitable for our dear Kwara workers without putting into consideration, the disparity between the wages and the cost of living. The headline inflation rate in September 2024 was 32.70%, representing a rise of about 220% when likened to the annual rate in 2011. The food inflation figure stands at 37.77% – and is still rising – while as of the time of putting this together, the naira exchanges for a dollar at the rate of N1,758.