President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Offered Labour ₦250,000 Minimum Wage with Conditions
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, disclosed that the Organised Labour turned down a proposal from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to implement a ₦250,000 minimum wage in exchange for an increase in petrol prices.
According to Ajaero, the decision to accept ₦70,000 instead was aimed at mitigating further hardship for Nigerians.
“Accepting ₦70,000 was the best way to save Nigerians from further hardship,” Ajaero stated during an appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” programme.
This statement came shortly after Labour leaders met with the President in Abuja.
Ajaero explained that during a meeting last week, President Tinubu proposed a deal: “I will give you guys ₦250,000 if you allow me to equally increase the pump price of petroleum products.” However, the Labour leaders opted to consult before responding. Upon returning to the negotiating table, they firmly rejected the offer, prioritizing the prevention of additional suffering for Nigerians over a higher minimum wage.
The pump price of petrol has significantly increased from ₦184 in May 2023, when President Tinubu declared that “subsidy is gone,” to approximately ₦700, depending on the region.
Ajaero also noted that the acceptance of a ₦70,000 minimum wage was partly influenced by a new agreement to review wages every three years instead of the previous five-year interval. This adjustment aims to better accommodate economic changes and living costs.
President Bola Tinubu is expected to submit an executive bill to the National Assembly to formalize the new minimum wage rate for legislative action by next week.
In a related development, in addition to N70,000 minimum wage offered Nigerian workers, President Bola Tinubu has also promised to give 36 CNG powered buses to Labour unions in order to alleviate the economic hardship being faced by workers.
