Tinubu Orders Finance Minister Wale Edun to Present Cost Implications of New Minimum Wage Within 48 Hours

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun to come up with the cost implications of an affordable, sustainable, and realistic new minimum wage and present the figures to the President within 48 hours.

The President gave the order at a meeting with the government negotiation team led by the Secretary to Government of the Federation, George Akume, at the presidential villa in Abuja on Tuesday.

Open Television Naija reports that the development was made known by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris during a press briefing after the high powered closed-door meeting.

Idris revealed that Mr. President directed the minister of finance to present the new minimum wage figures that will form the basis of negotiation with organised labour within two working days.

The Information and National Orientation Minister stated: “The president has just summoned a meeting of all those who negotiated on behalf of the federal government led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the minister of finance was there the minister of budget planning, the minister of information, the minister of budget and national planning, the minister of labour, and the NNPCL GMD.

“We were all there to look at all issues and the president has directed the minister of finance to do the numbers and get back to him between today and tomorrow so that we can have figures ready for negotiation with labour.”

Idris assured of the president’s readiness to accept the resolutions of the committee set up to man the negotiation on the minimum wage with the Labour in line with his commitment to the welfare of Nigerians.

He further explained that the federal government is poised to ensure a balance of its commitments within the framework of current economic realities in the country.

“Government is not against or opponent of labour discussions, government is not an opponent of wage increase but what is there is that government is always there to ensure that there is a balance between what government pronouncement is and what the realities are on ground.

“And therefore, we will work assiduously to ensure that whatever promises government makes is promise that will be kept that is the idea of this meeting.”

He further made it known that President Tinubu has directed representatives of the government to work with the organised private sector and the sub-nationals to achieve a new affordable and sustainable wage award for Nigerians.

Idris explained: “The President has given a matching order that all those who have negotiated on behalf of the federal government and all those who are representatives of organised private sectors, the sub nationals to come together to have a new wage award that is affordable, sustainable and that is also realistic for Nigerians.

“The wage award is not just that of the federal government like I mentioned earlier, the sub nationals are involved, the organised private sector is involved; it was labour that stepped out during that procedure. Now we have come back to the negotiation table.”

The minister assured that all parties to the negotiation of the new minimum wage will cooperate with the organised labour to present a new minimum wage for Nigerians in one week, noting: “All of us will work together assiduously within the next one week to ensure that we have a new wage for Nigeria that is acceptable, sustainable and realistic", he concluded.

The President's order came shortly after a joint extraordinary nec meeting of the organized labour announced its decision to relax the nationwide strike, giving the federal government a 5-day grace period and moratorium to conclude negotiations with labour on the new minimum wage.