The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Benue council, has urged the state government to hasten up processes for the implementation of the N70,000 new national minimum wage for workers.

The body made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of the union’s congress held on Wednesday in Makurdi and signed by Benue NUJ caretaker chairman, Vincent Nyiyongu, and the caretaker secretary, Terhemen Ater.

The men of the pen profession said the implementation of the new minimum wage would help cushion the hardship being experienced by Nigerians, particularly civil servants.

The NUJ also urged the state government to approve weigh-in allowances for all categories of workers that were due for it.

The NUJ expressed confidence that Mr Alia, who has proven to feel the pulse of the Benue workers through prompt payment of salaries, would eventually agree to pay the N70,000.

The union appreciated both the federal and state governments for releasing palliatives to the people as a step toward cushioning the negative effect of the removal of fuel subsidy removal and called for the sustenance of such gestures.

The union decried the rising crime wave in some parts of Makurdi, where it alleged that hoodlums now operate freely in the daylight.

The union challenged security agencies to improve their intelligence-gathering mechanisms to tame the crime tide.

(NAN)