NIGERIA Minimum Wage: President

 Buhari Meets with Governors

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, met behind closed doors at the State House with representatives of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) over the disagreement between them and Organised Labour on the proposed N30,000 new national minimum wage.

Attendees at the meeting included Governors of Zamfara, Lagos, Kebbi and Enugu, while the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige was also in attendance.

The Ama Pepple Tripartite Committee on the Review of National Minimum Wage, had on November 6, submitted its report to President Buhari, where it recommended N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.

Receiving the report, the President expressed his commitment to ensuring the implementation of a new national minimum wage and pledged to transmit an Executive bill (on National Minimum Wage) to the National Assembly for its passage within the shortest possible time.

However, the 36 State Governors had expressed reservations over the proposed N30, 000 new minimum wage, saying the state governments were not in a stable financial position to pay the new minimum wage.

The Chairman of the Governors’ Forum and Governor of Zamfara, Abdul’aziz Yari, had on Novrmber 15 told newsmen at the end of an emergency meeting of the Governors in Abuja that payment of the N30,000 wage was impracticable.