President Bola Tinubu has ordered the minister of finance and coordination for the economy, Wale Edun, to come up with the cost implications of an affordable, sustainable, and realistic new minimum wage and present the figures within two days.
News About Nigeria reports that Tinubu gave the order at a meeting with the government negotiation team led by the secretary to the government of the federation, George Akume, at the presidential villa in Abuja.
Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, said this in an interview with correspondents after the closed-door meeting.
Other members of the team, which has been meeting with organised labour, include ministers of finance, budget, and national planning, labour, and information, as well as the group managing director and chief executive officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Idris said that the president directed the minister of finance to present the new minimum wage figures that will form the basis of negotiation with organised labour.
Idris said, “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.”
Idris assured of the president’s readiness to accept the committee’s resolutions with organised labour in line with his commitment to the welfare of Nigerians.
He explained that the federal government is keen to ensure a balance between its commitments and the economic realities of the country.
The government’s spokesman added, “And let me say that the president is determined to go with what the committee has said, and he’s also looking at the welfare of Nigerians.
“The government is not against or an opponent of labour discussions; the government is not an opponent of wage increases, but what is there is that the government is always there to ensure that there is a balance between what government pronouncements are 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.”
Furthermore, he said President Tinubu has directed the government representatives to work with the organised private sector and the sub-nationals to achieve a new affordable and sustainable wage award for Nigerians.
Idris explained, “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 subnationals, 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, like I mentioned earlier, the sub-nationals are involved, and the organised private sector is involved; it was labour that stepped out during that procedure. Now we have come back to the negotiation table.”
The minister assured that all parties to the negotiation of the new minimum wage will cooperate with the organised labour to present a new minimum wage for Nigerians in one week, noting, “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.”
