Nigeria: VP Yemi Osinbajo chairs NEC meeting on new minimum wage

Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo is currently presiding over the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa in the capital city Abuja. The discussion is related to the new minimum wage followed by other issues. The meeting is likely to deliberate on the new N30,000 minimum wage as demanded by the organized labour.

While the federal government had proposed for an amount of N24,000 as new minimum wage, state governors through the Nigeria Governors Forum insisted on N22,500. But the organised labour did not agree to come down a single penny below N30,000, which was agreed upon during the Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee and submitted in the report to the President. The organized labour also threatened to veil the economy on January 28. They also warned to vote against any candidates in the next election that refuse to implement the proposed new minimum wage, Vanguard NGR noted.

The meeting precided by Yemi Osinbajo said to have commenced around 11:26 am on Thursday, January 17 after his arrival at the council chamber. Other participants include Kebbi, Jigawa, Lagos, Niger, Adamawa, Bauchi, Ekiti and Zamfara. Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed are also present at the meeting including Ogun and Nasarawa among the deputy governors.

Apart from the issue of new minimum wage, the meeting is likely to deal with other issues like agriculture. According to Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, 'Green Imperative' was aimed at boosting agricultural production in Nigeria. "The initiative will among other things entail the introduction of advanced Brazilian Agricultural Equipment and the establishment of Training Centres for Nigerian Farmers across the country," he added.