Wale Edun To Present New Minimum Wage Template To Tinubu – Information Minister

The Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed, has said the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, will present President Bola Tinubu with a new minimum wage template today.

Mohammed disclosed this on Tuesday during an interview with news correspondents at the State House in Abuja.

This disclosure came after organised labour suspended its industrial strike yesterday for five days, following an agreement with the federal and state government and private sector stakeholders to pay a minimum wage above N60,000 to workers nationwide.

Responding to the resolution, Mohammed reiterated the government’s commitment to the issue. He stated that the government is actively working to provide a new template before the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage (NMW).

Muhammed stated, “The government has just summoned the meeting of all those who negotiated on the federal government led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). The Minister of Finance, Budget and Economy Planning, myself, and others were there. We were all there to examine those issues.

“The president has directed the Minister of Finance to calculate the number and get back to him between Tuesday and today (Wednesday) so we can have some figures ready for negotiations.

“Let me say that Mr President is determined to go with what the committee has said. He is also looking at the welfare of Nigerians. As I said earlier, the government does not oppose the discussion of labour.

“We are not an opponent of wage increases. But what is there is that we are always desirous of ensuring a balance between government pronouncement and what is readily available on the ground,” he said.

Following the development, citizens criticised the NLC for “relaxing” the strike for five days. They took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the alleged settlement for N60,000 minimum wage, which they cited as unrealistic in catering to basic needs with the country’s economic hardship.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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Mayowa Durosinmi is a Nigerian investigative reporter for West Africa Weekly with reports focusing on politics, human rights, security and health in West Africa and the Sahel region.

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