Buhari orders minimum wage committee to fast track negotiations

Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has asked the joint committee on consequential adjustments of the new minimum wage to move swiftly with talks in order to reach an agreement without further delays.

As part of measures to ensure that it is no longer taken off-guard on the issue of salaries and wages adjustments, the president said the federal government will put in place a Presidential Committee on Salaries and Allowances that will be able to take requests after the committee on consequential adjustment has concluded its assignment.

The position of president Buhari was made known by Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment, Wednesday when he received the leadership of the association of labour correspondents in his office in Abuja.

Ngige said that president Buhari was very worried about the delay in the commencement of payment of the N30,000 new minimum and had instructed through his Chief of Staff that a deadline be set to end negotiations.

“It is the determination of the president and this administration to fast track the negotiation on consequential adjustment. I have just received a correspondence from the Chief of Staff to the President and we are putting a deadline to that negotiation. We are fast tracking it because the government will also want to put in place a Presidential Committee on Salaries and Allowances that will be able to take requests after this consequential adjustment,” he said.