Abuja, Nigeria
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said he will approve a new minimum wage that the government can sustainably afford.
Tinubu stated this on Wednesday during a dinner for Nigeria’s 25 years of uninterrupted democracy in Abuja.
He appreciated his loyalists who stood by him over the years and promised Nigerians that he wouldn’t depart from the tenets of democratic governance.
“I have to celebrate with you my dear brother, Senate President, Deputy Senate President,” he said, adding that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and his deputy, Jibrin Barau would soon get an Executive Bill from him on the new minimum wage.
“The minimum wage is going to be what Nigerians can afford, what you can afford and what I can afford. Cut your coat according to your size, if you have size at all,” he said.
President Tinubu also made a promise to bring down the prices of foodstuffs by tackling the menace of banditry that has forced many farmers away from their farms.
The president during his Democracy Day speech, honoured MKO Abiola and other heroes of democracy.
He urged Nigerians to support his administration’s efforts to strengthen the economy and informed citizens that a bill for a new minimum wage would be sent to the National Assembly soon, among other things.
On Friday, June 7, 2024, the two sides (labour and the government) failed to reach an agreement. While labour dropped again its demand from ₦494,000 to ₦250,000, the government added ₦2,000 to its initial ₦60,000 and offered workers ₦62,000.
Both sides submitted their reports to the President who is expected to make a decision and send an executive bill to the National Assembly to pass a new minimum wage bill to be signed into law by the President.
