New minimum wage: Tinubu to consult govs, private sector

President Bola Tinubu will consult state governors and the organised private sector before arriving at a final decision on the new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said this at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Idris said the report of the tripartite committee on the new minimum wage was presented and deliberated on at the FEC meeting but was stepped down to enable Tinubu consult further.

The minister said this would allow the president take an informed decision on it before sending its bill to the National Assembly for consideration.

He said: “We discussed the new minimum wage issue at the council meeting.

“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 organised private sector.

“And of course, the memo was stepped down to enable Mr President to consult further, especially with the state governors and organised private sector.”

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, also briefed on government finances and debts, including ways and means.

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Edun said: “When we interrogate the figures over the first quarter of this year, starting from middle of December 2023 and the end of March this year; if we want to be positive, what we will say is that the glass is half full.

“We are halfway there. If not, we can be negative and try and say the glass is half empty. Why do I say this? The total debt stock of Nigerians in dollar terms fell by 15 per cent; that is very positive.

“Any rating agency, any creditor, any investor looking at that will see it as a positive move.

“We are a country that has petrodollar, we have ability to earn in dollars. So it’s highly relevant that we look at what is our exposure in dollars terms.”

According to him, on the other hand, the exchange rates increased by 8 trillion in actual debt issuance, and the total external debt and domestic debt in naira terms had increased by 25 per cent.

The minister added: “Debt is all about the revenue to service it, and of course to use those funds properly, judiciously,  accountably and in a way that gives positive returns.

“At no time have we gone to Mr President to seek permission to go to the Central Bank to pay anybody, be it external debt service, be it share capital cash calls for any of the liabilities that the government has.”

Edun noted that as with all agencies, the government was focused on ensuring that the revenue due to it was collected robustly using technology, avoiding blockages associated with manual processing, which he said had led to a very robust revenue effort.

The Star