The meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday stepped down deliberation on the minimum wage memorandum brought before it.
This, according to the minister of information and national orientation, Mohammed Idris, is to enable the president to consult with the 36 state governors on the matter.
Briefing correspondents after the meeting of the council at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Idris explained that the president will consult with the organized private sector before arriving at the figure that will be submitted to the National Assembly in the form of an Executive Bill as the new national minimum wage.
He said the memorandum was stepped down by the council because the matter concerns federal, state governments and the organized private sector.
The minister said: “I want to inform Nigerians here that the Federal Executive Council deliberated on that (report of the Tripartite Committee on New National Minimum Wage) and the decision is that because the new national minimum wage is not just that of the federal government, it is an issue that involves the federal government, the state governments, local governments, and the organized private sector and of course, including the organized labour, that memo was stepped down to enable Mr. President to consult further, especially with the state governors and the organized private sector, before he makes a presentation to the National Assembly before an executive bill is presented to the National Assembly.
“So, I want to state that on the new national minimum wage, Mr President is going to consult further so that he can have an informed position because the new national minimum wage, like I said, is not just an issue of the federal government.
“It affects the state governments, it affects the local governments, it also affects the organized private sector, and that is why it is called national minimum wage. It’s not just an affair of the federal government.
“So, Mr. President has studied the report and he’s going to consult wider before a final submission is being made to the National Assembly.”
Details later….
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