President Bola Tinubu has directed Wale Edun, Minister of Finance, to provide cost implications for the new minimum wage within two days.
Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, briefed State House correspondents after the negotiation team met with Tinubu at Aso Rock on Tuesday.
“All parties to the negotiation of the new minimum wage would work together with organised labour to present a new minimum wage for Nigerians in one week.
“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 realistic.”
Idris also revealed that Tinubu had given a marching order to all those who have negotiated on behalf of the federal government and all those who are representatives of organised private sectors and subnationals to come together to have a new minimum wage that is affordable, sustainable, and realistic for Nigerians.
The minister stated that Tinubu is committed to accepting the tripartite committee’s resolutions on the new minimum wage.
“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. 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 an opponent of labour discussions or wage increases.”
According to the minister, the president asked the group to work together to provide Nigerians with an “affordable, sustainable, and realistic” minimum wage.
“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,” he said.
George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, summoned labour leaders to an emergency conference following the walkout that hampered economic activity on Monday.
At the end of the meeting, it was stated that the federal government has pledged to pay more than the N60,000 minimum wage.
