Abuja— The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has decided to step down the memo on the new minimum wage, pending further consultations.
This announcement was made by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, during a briefing with State House correspondents.
According to Idris, the agenda for the FEC meeting included 39 items, all of which were addressed. However, the decision on the new minimum wage could not be finalized. He explained that the Tripartite Committee, consisting of representatives from local government, states, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the federal government, had submitted its report on the new minimum wage.
Despite the submission, the council decided to defer the memo. The Minister emphasized that the issue involves multiple stakeholders, including local governments, state governments, the federal government, the organized private sector, and labor unions.
Given the complexity and the need for broad consensus, the memo was stepped down to allow President Bola Tinubu to conduct extensive consultations before making a final submission to the National Assembly.
This decision highlights the government’s approach to ensuring that all relevant parties are adequately consulted and that the new minimum wage reflects a balanced agreement among all stakeholders.
The move is seen as a step towards achieving a sustainable and widely accepted resolution on the minimum wage issue.
Meanwhile, Organized Labour, have called for an urgent meeting in response to the Federal Executive Council’s decision to stepdown the memo in respect of the national minimum wage.
The scheduled meeting, as outlined by a senior NLC official, is set to take place at Labour House on Wednesday by 10:00am.
