The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has submitted the projected cost implications of implementing a new national minimum wage to President Bola Tinubu.
Edun, along with the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, presented President Tinubu with the cost implications of the new minimum wage in his office at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday.
Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with the President, Edun verified the submission and reassured that “there is no cause for alarm.”
Edun’s submission of the cost implication follows a 48-hour ultimatum issued to him by President Tinubu on Tuesday during a meeting with the government negotiation team on the new minimum wage led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
Other team members at the meeting included the Ministers of Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, and Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, as well as the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.
Recall that organised labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, had embarked on a nationwide strike on Monday to demand an increased minimum wage for workers and the reversal of the recently increased electricity tariffs.
However, the labour union leadership suspended the strike on Tuesday for five days after signing a commitment with the Federal Government to resume negotiations and come up with a new minimum wage within a week.