Buhari Dashes Workers’ Hopes…‘Backtracks’ On New Minimum Wage

The President Muhammadu Buhari administration may have dashed the hopes of Nigerian workers on its promise to jack up the N18, 000 minimum wage to a higher amount in the year 2018.

This comes as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, during a chat with reporters in Abuja, said there is a slim chance that government’s plan to increase the minimum wage this year will come to pass.

It would be recalled that the Buhari administration had constituted a Tripartite Committee whose obligation was to deliberate and come up with an improved national minimum wage for workers in the country.

Some state governments had made different recommendations ranging from N22, 000 to N58,000 as the proposed new minimum wage.

But Ngige told the reporters that due to the time it would require the Federal Government to examine inputs from stakeholders concerning the new minimum wage, its viability may not be possible in 2018.

“The committee on the new National Minimum wage is expected to conclude its work by the end of September and present its report to the government for deliberation and approval before an executive bill is sent to the National Assembly on the issue,” said the Minister.