From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has vowed to ensure Nigerians get a living wage in the ongoing wage review in the country.
He stated this in Abuja, yesterday, at the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Policy Dialogue on Corruption, Social norms and behaviour change in Nigeria.
He said a situation where the take home pay of a large segment of the population is unable to take them home, was recipe for all manner of corruption.
“This is why the House of Representatives is particularly interested in the ongoing review of minimum wage in the country. The House this time around will ensure that Nigerians get a survival wage that could take them home. In many societies where corruption is on a low scale, there are social safety nets that guarantee protection for the people and Nigeria has the capacity to do the same,” Abbas said.
The speaker, represented by Busayo Oluwole-Oke, a member of the House of Reps, said the issue of a survival wage system has a significant role in preventing corruption since it affects citizens’ attitudes and actions toward engaging in crime.
He lamented that as lawmakers, there was often a significant societal pressure and expectation placed upon them to provide various services, assistance, and functions that may fall outside the scope of legislative responsibilities.
The speaker said while changing social norms was essential for combating corruption effectively, the nation must equally address those circumstances that inform those behaviours.
He said addressing corruption required not only legal and institutional reforms, but also a transformation of social norms and behaviours.
ICPC chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, explained that the policy dialogues were generally meant to deliberate on issues that focus on more systemic and institutional improvements, which also should be sustainable regardless of changes in political administration.
Owasanoye said the programme could not have come at a better time than now when the foundation of the country’s social values and norms have become seriously threatened.