No decision yet on minimum wage – Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has
said that the extraordinary meeting of the Federal Executive Council
(FEC) on National Minimum Wage had been postponed until after the
National Economic Council’s (NEC) deliberation on the matter.

Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

The minister stated this when he briefed State House correspondents
on the outcome of the extraordinary meeting of FEC, which was presided
over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on
Tuesday.

According to him, the Federal Government is awaiting the final
position of the NEC on the new national minimum wage, saying Council’s
meeting on the matter is work in progress.

NEC is the nation’s highest economic-decision-making body, chaired by
the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, with the 36 state governors,
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma and FCT Minister,
Mohammed Bello, as members.

But, the minister said: “I cannot talk on the outcome of the meeting over minimum wage because it’s work in progress.

“It would also be discussed by the National Economic Council (NEC) before we can brief the media”.

President Buhari had on Jan. 9 inaugurated a Technical Advisory
Committee on the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage and
reiterated his commitment to its payment.

He restated his commitment to an upward review of the minimum wage “as it is time to do so’’.

He said the committee would recommend “modalities for the
implementation of the new minimum wage in such a manner as to minimise
its inflationary impact, as well as ensure that its introduction does
not lead to job losses’’.

According to the president, the committee, which will be chaired by
an economist and financial expert, Mr Bismarck Rewane, is expected to
complete its deliberations and submit its report and recommendations
within one month.

The organised labour had insisted on a N30,000 minimum wage as
proposed by the Ama Pepple tripartite committee, while the Nigeria
Governors Forum (NGF) proposed N24,000.

President Buhari, however, stated that the Federal Government had
engaged State Governments, to ensure they are carried along in
determining any upward review of the minimum wage for workers.

“I want to make it clear that there is no question about whether the
National Minimum Wage will be reviewed upwards. I am committed to a
review of the minimum wage.

“Also, it is important to explain that even though the subject of a
National Minimum Wage is in the Exclusive Legislative List, we have been
meeting with the state governors because it is imperative that the
Federal Government carries the State Governments along in determining
any upward review of the minimum wage for workers.

“This is especially necessary considering the prevailing public
sector revenue challenges, which has made it extremely difficult for
some of the governors to pay workers as and when due,” he said while
inaugurating the advisory committee.

He said the Federal Government on its part had made adequate
provision for the increase in the Minimum Wage in its 2019 Budget
proposal, which was submitted to the National Assembly on Dec. 19, 2018.