Babatunde Solanke
President Bola Tinubu has approved N70,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers,with a vow to review the national minimum wage law every three years.
Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information,who announced this at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, on Thursday, disclosed that the president made the announcement at a meeting with leaders of the organised labour.
He 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.
He added:“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”.
According to him,to complement the new minimum wage, the Federal Government would ramp up the rollout of Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses in order to check the high cost of transportation.
He said that 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.
Speaking,Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Minister of State for Labour, said that the issue of minimum wage was not that of the law and not who was right, or who would blink first.
She added:“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”
