President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria has signed the new minimum wage bill into law, establishing a new national minimum wage of N70,000. The signing took place during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House in Abuja.
This decision follows negotiations between the Federal Government and Organized Labour, culminating in an agreement to increase the minimum wage from the previously proposed N62,000 to N70,000. The tripartite committee, which included representatives from the government, private sector, and labor unions, initially presented two different figures, with the government and private sector proposing N62,000 while labor unions demanded N250,000.
After the meeting, Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris addressed correspondents, emphasizing the President’s commitment to infrastructure development and renewable energy investment. “We’re happy to announce that both the Federal Government and Organized Labour have agreed on an increase on the N62,000. The new national minimum wage that we expect to submit to the National Assembly for legislation is N70,000,” he said.
Idris also mentioned plans to acquire more Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to enhance Nigeria’s compliance with renewable energy standards. “More money is going to go into the acquisition of more buses, the CNG buses. Nigeria is going to be more CNG-compliant, according to the President,” he added.
Idris highlighted that the Federal Government will also focus on resolving issues concerning university staff unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU). “We are happy, we are very thankful for the role organized labour has played. They recognized the Federal Government’s role in ensuring that we have local government autonomy, and also ensuring that both Labour and government are on the same page,” Idris noted.
Expressing gratitude towards Organized Labour for their cooperation and patriotism, Idris said, “They have seen the magnanimity of the President and today, the leadership of Labour said they didn’t come here for negotiation, not at all, they came here in that 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.”
Idris praised the collaborative efforts of all parties involved, including the Federal Government, sub-national entities, and the Organized Private Sector. “We want to thank Labour for their patriotism. We also want to thank Mr President, the Federal Government, the sub-nationals and Organized Private Sector for going through this painstaking effort but also ensuring that at the end of the day, Nigeria is the winner for it all,” He said.
