The Federal Executive Council has stepped down the memo on the National Minimum Wage, delaying its decision until President Bola Ahmed Tinubu consults further with state governors and the organized private sector.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced this on Tuesday after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Tinubu.
He said; “There was a memo on the national minimum wage report submitted by the tripartite committee to the FEC. The decision is that the new national minimum wage involves not just the Nigerian Government but also state, local governments, the organized private sector, and members of the organized labour. The executives decided to step down the memo to allow the President to consult further before making final decisions and presenting an executive bill to the National Assembly.
Speaking on Wage award extension which ended in February 2024, the Minister noted that discussions are ongoing. He emphasized that the government is not opposed to a wage increase and that the issue involves the organized private sector and state governments as well.
“Already N62,000 has been put forward by the committee. It is the decision of President Tinubu to engage further to have a new national minimum wage that works,”the Minister added.
The Nigerian government team and organised Private sector had made an offer of N62,000 on the last day of the meeting of the tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage but the organised labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, demanded N250,000 as a new living wage.