Tinubu Okays N70,000 As Minimum Wage
BY EDMOND ODOK – Following the latest rounds of talks with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) Leaderships on Thursday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved N70,000 as the new minimum wage.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who made the announcement at the end of the meeting between the organized labour and the government, said the President also promised to review the national minimum wage law every three years.
Idris also said President Tinubu would perfect the proposal on the new minimum wage in a bill to be forwarded to the National Assembly next week.
Addressing journalists at the Presidential Villa, Idris said; “We’re happy to announce today that both the federal government and Organised Labour have agreed on an increase on the N62,000.
“The new national minimum wage that we expect to be submitted to the National Assembly for legislation is N70,000.
“But that is not all. Mr President has assured of massive investment in infrastructure. There is also a deepening of the investment of the Federal Government in renewable energy”.
The Information Minister further said that to complement the new minimum wage, the Federal Government would ramp up the rollout of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered buses in order to check the high cost of transportation.
According to him, efforts were also being made to improve the economy and reduce inflation, including the recent directive on the suspension of duty on certain food imports to bring down the prices of food items.
In her remarks, Minister of State for Labour, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, said the issue of minimum wage was not about the law, neither is it about who was right, or who would blink first?
Applauding the President’s intervention, the Minister stated this; “He said that he is our father, like he has always said. That, first and foremost, the review of this minimum wage policy has to be reduced to three years, that five years is too long a time to get any minimum wage review.
“And of course, that Labour should look at the indices of the economy and accept N70,000, minimum wage”.
The meeting was attended by Labour leaders, including the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, and his TUC counterpart, Comrade Festus Osifo.
The Labour leaders arrived the Presidential Villa at about 2.15 pm in a white 32-seater Coaster bus and headed straight to the first-floor office of Mr President where the meeting took place.
