Buhari, Obasanjo, others approve N27,000 minimum wage

The National Council of State presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari with former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan in attendance approved N27,000 National Minimum Wage on Tuesday.

The approval was disclosed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Ngige told State House correspondents that the bill on the new minimum wage of N27,000 would be transmitted to the National Assembly in the next 24 hours for passage into law.

According to him the N27,000 is the benchmark for all employers of labour with more than 25 workers on their payroll, emphasising that no employer of labour with more 25 workers should be paid less than the proposed N27,000.

The minister, however, stated that the Federal Government had resolved to pay its workers N30,000 as the new national minimum while the State Governments are free to negotiate with their respective staff.

The organised labour had insisted on a N30,000 minimum wage as proposed by the Ama Pepple tripartite committee, while the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) proposed N24,000.

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The meeting which lasted for about three hours, was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former president, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and the former head of the interim government, Chief Ernest Shonekan.

Others, who attended the meeting included three former Chief Justices of Nigeria, namely; Muhammadu Uwais, Alfa Belgore and Mahmud Mohammed while Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnogen, former military President Ibrahim Babangida and Gen. Yakubu Gowon were however absent at the meeting.