- The federal government says it will renegotiate the new minimum wage with senior civil servants
- The government discloses that once the President Buhari assents to the bill, emphasis would be on productivity
- Minister Udoma argues that the government cannot spend all its resources on payment of salaries alone
The federal government is to commence renegotiation of the N30,000 minimum wage with senior civil servants in the country as it argues it cannot spend the entire resources on salary payment.
The minister of budget and national planning, Udoma Udoma, reportedly said this adding that the renegotiation would commence immediately President Muhammadu Buhari assents to the bill on minimum wage.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister spoke when he appeared before the Senate committee on finance on Tuesday, March 19, in Abuja to give explanations on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and fiscal paper.
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Coincidentally, the new minimum wage bill was passed by the Senate same Tuesday, March 19, with the upper legislative chamber asking the federal government to send a supplementary budget that would cover the payment of the new salaries.
Minister Udoma said the executive arm of government would meet with relevant stakeholders on the matter as soon as it is signed into law.
“Once we announce the minimum wage, we now enter into negotiations with those who are above the minimum wage.
“So, we have to be prepared for that. We will be meeting with the finance committee on how best this minimum wage will be addressed both from the federal and the state governments.
“This is to ensure that the whole government apparatus is not just to pay salaries. It is important we are able to pay the minimum wage and still have enough resources to do infrastructure, health, agriculture and others,” he said.
He further said once the minimum wage bill is signed by the president, serious emphasis would be laid on productivity.
“As a result of agitation from the unions, the president set up a tripartite committee to look at the minimum wage. It is expected that every five years a review is done.
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“We know that the N18,000 is too low and it will be difficult to manage with 18,000 and the president supported the review. It is, however, important that as we are reviewing it, we make sure that we can fund it.
“That is why we set up a committee. So, we will be coming to you as there may be some changes to make sure we can fund the minimum wage,” he explained.
Legit.ng earlier reported that a cross section of civil servants in Adamawa state on Wednesday, January 23, commended the National Council of State (NCS) for resolving the minimum wage issue.
Also, an Abuja-based pressure group, Noble Youths Mass Support Association (NYMSA), hailed the government for taking action to avert nationwide industrial action.
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Source: Legit.ng
