After months of negotiations, the federal government and Organised Labour have agreed on a new national minimum wage of N70,000.
The minister of information, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this to State House correspondents after a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Organised Labour at the presidential villa, Abuja, yesterday.
He described the development as “a happy day for Nigeria.”
The new figure represents an increase from the previously discussed N62,000, but falls far short of Labour’s previous figure of N250,000.
According to Idris, the key feature of the new agreement is a reduction in the review period from five years to three years.
He said, “We’re happy to announce today that the federal government and organised Labour have agreed to an increase in the N62,000 (earlier proposed).
“The new national minimum wage that we expect to present to submit to the National Assembly for legislation is N70,000, but that is not all: there is also a boost, as Mr. President has assured us that massive investment will be made in infrastructure.
“There is also a deepening of the federal government’s investment in renewable energy. More money is going to go into acquiring more buses, the CNG buses. Nigeria is going to be more CNG-compliant, according to the president.
“We’re moving in this transition to renewable energy, and all other things that Mr. President has assured Labour about are the issues of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) which will also be looked at.
“And we are happy; we are very thankful for organised labour’s role today; they recognised the federal government’s role in ensuring that we have the local government autonomy and that both the organised Labour and the government are on the same page today.
According to the information minister, Labour has shown “a deep sense of patriotism to ensure that Nigeria remains united, Nigeria becomes more prosperous, and it is in that spirit that they agree with what the federal government has done today.”
