Buhari To Raise Minimum Wage Before 2019, Reveals Ngige

Dr. Chris Ngige, Nigeria’s labour minister, has revealed that works are in the pipeline to raise the minimum wage of Nigerian workers in 2018.

Speaking on the National Tripartite Committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to take up the task, Ngige said the president “is monitoring it strictly, and I am monitoring it too. I wear a double cap as minister of labour, who is the regulator and also as the deputy chairman of the committee.”

The minister said the Buhari-led government is dedicated to ensuring that the new minimum wage is acceptable to all stakeholders.

He said, “We had our inaugural meeting on December 14 and we did a framework for our work. We will finish our job before the third quarter of this year, but we may finish earlier.

“Minimum wage is a national matter and only the Federal Government can legislate on it. Labour matters and the issue of national minimum wage are on the exclusive list.”

Ngige revealed that the new minimum wage committee is comprised of “State governors; one from each geopolitical zone, five ministers and the Head of Service in the committee. States will key to the new minimum wage when we are done because they are part of it.

“We will fix a minimum wage, but states can pay more than that. I give you an example, today minimum wage is N18,500, but Adams Oshiomhole was paying N25,000 before he left office.

“Minimum wage is just to set the baseline, but states can pay more,” said the minister.