Abuja, June 4, 2024 – President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday directed Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance, to present the cost implications for a new minimum wage within two days.
Tinubu gave the order during a meeting with the representatives of the federal government on the Committee on New National Minimum Wage.
Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, disclosed this after the meeting.
“The president has just summoned a meeting of all those who negotiated on behalf of the federal government led by the secretary to the government of the federation.
” The minister of finance was there, the minister of budget planning, the minister of information, the minister of budget and national planning, the minister of labour, and the NNPCL GMD.
“We were all there to look at all issues and the president has directed the minister of finance to do the numbers and get back to him between today and tomorrow so that we can have figures ready for negotiation with labour.
“Government is not against or opponent of labour discussions, the government is not an opponent of wage increase, but what is there is that government is always there to ensure that there is a balance between what government pronouncement is and what the realities are on the ground.
“And therefore, we will work assiduously to ensure that whatever promises the government makes are promises that will be kept. That is the idea of this meeting.”
“The President has given a matching order that all those who have negotiated on behalf of the federal government and all those who are representatives of organised private sectors, the sub nationals to come together to have a new wage award that is affordable, sustainable and that is also realistic for Nigerians.
“The wage award is not just that of the federal government as I mentioned earlier, the sub-nationals are involved, the organised private sector is involved; it was labour that stepped out during that procedure. Now we have come back to the negotiation table.”
“All of us will work together assiduously within the next one week to ensure that we have a new wage for Nigeria that is acceptable, sustainable and also realistic,” Idris said.
