A former chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ogun Chapter, Wale Adegbite, has appealed to the government to ensure improved infrastructure to ease payment of the N70,000 minimum wage by the private sector.

Mr Adegbite, in an interview on Saturday in Ota, Ogun, said the provision of critical infrastructure like good roads, stable power supply, and quick discharge of containers at the ports, among others, will reduce the cost of production.

He noted that with the current economic situation in the country, it would be difficult for some manufacturers, especially the smaller ones, to pay the newly approved minimum wage.

“We urge the federal and state governments to provide improved infrastructure like good roads, quick discharge of containers at ports, removal of toll collectors on our roads, among others, to ease the payment of the minimum wage for manufacturers,” he said.

He said some manufacturers with unionised staff had started paying over N60,000 as a minimum wage when the palliative levy was added to the minimum wage last year.

Mr rAdegbite appealed to manufacturers to comply with the payment of the new minimum wage.

The federal government and organised labour had, on Thursday, agreed on N70,000 as the new national minimum wage.

(NAN)