President Bola Ahmed Tinubu might declare a new minimum wage on May 1st in observance of International Labour Day.
A Saturday report by The PUNCH indicated that the National Minimum Wage Committee is nearing the end of negotiations for a new rate, which the president is expected to announce during his address on Workers’ Day.
The minimum wage is the legally mandated lowest payment employers must provide their workers for their labor.
Since 2018, Nigeria’s minimum wage has remained at N30,000, with labor unions advocating for an increase due to escalating economic difficulties.
An anonymous committee member revealed that the National Minimum Wage Committee plans to convene next week to aggregate all the feedback from regional public consultations, which will inform further deliberations.
“The minimum wage committee is set to reconvene next week. This ongoing series of meetings will involve synthesizing all the input from the zonal public hearings, which will then guide the committee’s future direction.
“Our goal is to have the President declare the new minimum wage by May 1st, Workers’ Day, to be effective from April. We are striving to adhere to this schedule,” stated the source.
The member mentioned that it’s improbable for the new rate to begin by the end of March, as there’s still considerable progress to be made in settling on a suitable minimum wage for the nation.
“We haven’t reached the negotiation stage yet. The collective input from the zones will guide the main committee’s direction once zone consultations are complete.
Having concluded the zonal consultations, the committee will now compile the various stances of the zones and its members.
The viewpoints of the NLC, TUC, NECA (Nigeria Employers Consultative Association), and the government will be considered. Subsequently, we will assess the collective data, determine a percentage, and decide on an agreeable figure,” the source continued.
The committee member indicated that following some adjustments, the committee plans to meet privately with the president and state governors to reach a resolution.
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The source also noted that NECA’s involvement is crucial in the process, emphasizing that “it’s not a straightforward task.”
The report indicates that Idris Mohammed, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, could not be reached. Meanwhile, Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, acknowledged his limited familiarity with the committee’s internal discussions but confirmed that the committee members were aware of the urgency of their task and that discussions were in progress.
On the other hand, a presidential aide, preferring to remain anonymous, suggested that President Tinubu may announce the new minimum wage before May 1 if the committee finalizes its work on time, pointing out that the new wage is expected to be effective from April 1.
“The government is unlikely to wait until May 1 to declare the new minimum wage. The law stipulates that it should be finalized by early April. If there is a consensus, there’s no need to delay the announcement. Negotiations are underway, and they should be concluded by April,” the aide commented.