The federal government and the organized business sector presented a fresh offer of N62,000, while organized labor reduced their prior number of N497,000 to N250,000. These new figures are from the national minimum wage tripartite committee.
Following a lengthy committee negotiating meeting in Abuja on Saturday night, Hope Uzodimma, the governor of Imo State, made this announcement on behalf of the Nigerian governors present.
“We are almost there because we are about to sign the dot and there will be a complete closure,” stated Uzodinma. Everything else will come next.
“After a great deal of effort, the group has reached a consensus. Three parties comprise the tripartite committee: organized labor, organized private sector, and government.
“In the wisdom of the committee, it has put together a recommendation that will be forwarded to Mr President for further action
“The organised private sector and the Federal Government have agreed on N62, 000 while the organised labour is asking for N250, 000.
“At the end of the day what is important is that we are talking. There is no hostility anymore. And the national anxiety is going to be relaxed as soon as this is made public. That is the beauty of the conversation and I am very happy
we have been able to manage this temptation that has befallen our nation so that government can face their business and Nigerians will also go about their businesses without any further embarrassment.
TUC President Comrade Festus Osifo stated as follows: “The OPS and Federal Government have recommended N62, 000 as the minimum wage, but we felt that N250, 000 should be what will be okay for the minimum wage given the current economic hardship and difficulties in the land.”
“We are going to sign a report and forward this position to Mr President. This committee is to make recommendation to Mr President so we will forward it to him and Mr President will forward it to the National Assembly.
“We will keep pushing to ensure that we have a wage that stands the test of time in Nigeria.
The Chairman of the ripartite committee, Goni Aji, in his comment, said; “The recommendation that we have just had is as a result of a very deep dialogue and consensus reached at the Tripartite level. The situation that we are recommending to Mr President, some how, is repeating itself because it happened in the 2018 exercise.
“In 2018, it was the other way. The organised private sector and the organised labour recommended N30, 000 as minimum wage while the government side recommended N24, 000.
“Two figures were recommended to the then President for his consideration and onward transmission to the National Assembly for it to become a law. That is exactly where we are.
“The mandate of the tripartite committee is to recommend. It has no powers to approve but to recommend and the recommendation today came as a result of deeper understanding and studies of all the economic indices and current inflation, state of the economy,
Affordability, capability and sustainability had been displayed so that a figure that will further throw the country into confusion is not announced this is because if any party goes into an agreement of the figures it knows from its sources it cannot afford then it is going to create another problem.
“But I thank God that all wisdom came together and that the recommendation to Mr President is going along the direction that you have just heard from the Governor of Imo State who played a very critical role in mediating this process with his colleague the governor of Kwara State.”
