Report: Federal government to raise the minimum wage to N200k per month

There are strong indications that the federal government is favourably disposed to raising the minimum wage to as high as N200k per month as demanded by the organised labour in the country.

However, state governors are urging for caution while Anambra State governor Charles Soludo has been asked to chair a Technical Working Group (TWG) to resolve the issues and its various dimensions.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the matter was discussed at the last month’s National Economic Council (NEC) meeting and it was there that the Salaries, Incomes & Wages Commission made a presentation on how the federal government can meet up with the demand of N200,000 per month minimum wage.

Sources, revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is specifically and personally convinced that the demand of the organised labour is not unrealistic pointing to his campaign promises as a proof of his readiness to handle the challenge.

Recall that President Tinubu as president-elect also said on Workers Day on May 1 that “In the Nigeria, I shall have the honour and privilege to lead from May 29, workers will have more than a minimum wage. You will have a living wage to have a decent life and provide for your families.”

At the NEC meeting which the president inaugurated in June, the Salaries & Wages Commission costed the financial implications of the said minimum wage increase and showed how the federal government could pay it, with a certain recommendation that it was well within the capacity of the federal government. But at the meeting the state governors who make up the membership of the NEC raised questions over the proposal.