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.
This submission comes after President Tinubu issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Edun on Tuesday during a meeting about the new minimum wage.
Edun, along with the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, presented the cost implications to President Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja. Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, Edun confirmed the submission and reassured everyone by saying, “There is no cause for alarm.”
The submission follows a 48-hour ultimatum given by President Tinubu to Edun. This was during a meeting with the government’s negotiation team on the new minimum wage, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
Other team members included the Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Labour, and Information, as well as the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited.
Earlier this week, the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress had started a nationwide strike demanding an increased minimum wage for workers and the reversal of the recently increased electricity tariffs.
However, the strike was suspended for five days after the labour union leadership signed a commitment with the federal government to resume negotiations and come up with a new minimum wage within a week.
