Federal Government Pledges to Implement New National Minimum Wage and Consequential Adjustments

The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced that workers will soon start enjoying the new national minimum wage and the consequential adjustments. This comes after a Town Hall Engagement with the Organised Labour and Employers meeting held in Abuja, where Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, made the announcement.

The meeting, themed "Imperatives of the Eight-point Agenda of President Bola Tinubu Administration," aimed to promote knowledge about the present administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and harness the inputs of labour and employers. According to Onyejeocha, the federal government is meeting with the tripartite committee today, as well as the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, to deliberate on modalities of payment for the consequential adjustments and the minimum wage.

The minister reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to addressing socio-economic challenges and evolving solutions to emerging threats to the nation’s wellbeing. She assured that the government is determined to tackle head-on the ills that have troubled the nation in recent years and restore Nigeria’s economic pride globally.

Onyejeocha also lauded the support of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and the efforts to reform the economy, ensure inclusive growth, and strengthen security. She emphasized that the government is committed to fulfilling its pledge to Nigerians and is working tirelessly to put Nigeria in its pride of place in the world economy.

Prof. George Ogenyi of the Department of Political Science, Nasarawa State University, also spoke at the meeting, attributing the nation’s present state of economic hardship to the removal of fuel subsidy and liberalisation of the Naira. He called on the federal government to find ways of stabilising the pump price of fuel in the country and expand local production in all sectors, especially in the areas of oil and gas.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, noted that every period of adversity presents its own unique set of challenges, which are subsequently followed by a return to stability. He stressed that hope provides the essential foundation for potential achievement and that concerted efforts would ultimately culminate in exceptional success.

The stakeholders’ engagement aimed to mobilise the workforce to achieve the renewed hope agenda, foster a cooperative labour-government relations, and replace conflict with collaboration. The federal government’s commitment to implementing the new national minimum wage and consequential adjustments is a step towards addressing the socio-economic challenges facing the nation.