The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has decided to step down the memo on the new minimum wage, to enable President Bola Tinubu engage in consultations with state governors and the private sector.
Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, disclosed the decision on Tuesday, while addressing State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting.
Idris noted that the final decision on the new national minimum wage will not only affect the Federal Government, but also states, local government and the private sector.
According to the minister, president Tinubu will make an informed decision after a wider consultation, adding that the new minimum wage requires input from all stakeholders.
“I want to inform Nigerians here that the federal executive council deliberated on the report of the tripartite committee on the new national minimum wage,” he said.
“The decision is that because the new national minimum wage is not just that of the federal government, it is an issue that involves the federal government, the state governments, local governments, and the organised private sector and of course, including the organised labour.
“That memo was stepped down to enable Mr. President to consult further, especially with the state governors and the organised private sector, before an executive bill is presented to the national assembly.
“So I want to state that on the new national minimum wage, Mr. President is going to consult further so that he can have an informed position because the new national minimum wage, like I said, is not just an issue of the federal government.
“It affects the state governments, local governments, the organised private sector. That is why it is called the national minimum wage. It’s not just an affair of the federal government.
“So, Mr. President has studied the report and he is going to consult wider before a final submission is made to the national assembly.”
The organised labour, federal, state governments, and the private sector have been negotiating on a new minimum wage.
The organised labour rejected N62,000 proposal by the government and demanded N250,000 as the living wage, at the last meeting of the tripartite committee on minimum wage.
The federal government has asked the labour unions to demand a more realistic and sustainable minimum wage.
