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Minimum Wage: Governors Keep Mum After Meeting With Buhari
Representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) kept mum on the outcome of the closed-door meeting they held with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday over the proposed new national minimum wage.
This online medium had reported earlier that President Buhari on Monday met with state governors over the proposed N30,000 minimum wage.
The meeting, which was also attended by Chairman of the NGF, Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara state, and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, held at the presidential villa, Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Others at the meeting included Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, Senator Atiku Abubabakar Bagudu of Kebbi State, David Umahi of Ebonyi State, and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State.
Africa News 24 recalls that the tripartite committee on the review of national minimum wage had on November 6 submitted its report to the president where it recommended N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.
When he received the report from the Chairman of the committee, President Buhari conveyed his commitment to ensuring the implementation of a new national minimum wage and pledged to transmit an executive bill to the national assembly for its passage within the shortest possible time.
The president also expressed delight that the committee had successfully completed its assignment in a “peaceful and non-controversial manner”.
However, the chairman of the NGF, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, had said it was impossible to implement the N30,000 minimum wage without downsizing the workforce all over the country.
According to the Zamfara state governor, he and his colleagues have agreed to pay N22,500 to workers.
The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) however, insisted that there was no going back on the N30,000 as against the existing N18,000.