FG, Govs silent on Minimum Wage

Millions of Nigerians and members of the organised labour had expected that the federal government and the states would take a position on the matter, which has dragged since the removal of fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, the day Tinubu took over power, and the expiration of the N30,000 minimum wage agreed on in 2019.

The NEC meeting, statutorily chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was attended by President Tinubu, a development that raised the hope of keen watchers of the development that there was the likelihood that the threshold of the new minimum wage expected will be put to rest.

It would be recalled that the 37-member Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage, led by a former Head of Service of the Federation, Bukar Aji, had submitted its report to President Tinubu weeks ago, after about five months of sittings.

After the NEC meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday, there was no mention of minimum wage as governors who briefed the press did not entertain questions.

Instead, President Tinubu approved a ‘one-off’ allocation to states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of N10 billion for the procurement of buses and CNG “uplift programme”.

This was part of a new intervention tagged “National Construction and Household Support Programme”.

In a statement, presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said the programme includes the “Delivery of N50,000 uplift grants each to 100,000 families per state for three months, and provision for labour unions and civil society organisations.

According to him, there would be “Deployment of N155 billion for the purchase and sale of assorted foodstuff to be distributed across the nation”.

The statement said the programme was expected to boost agricultural productivity, strengthen the economy by creating opportunities in the real sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and construction, as well as provide urgent economic relief for Nigerians.

It said road infrastructure projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is underway, and the Trans-Saharan Highway, which links Enugu, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Abuja, would be prioritised.

President Tinubu also approved full counterpart financing for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway; to traverse Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno states, as well as for the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway; which will traverse Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Niger, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano.