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Buhari, Governors in Closed-door Meeting over Minimum Wage

The President and some state governors are currently meeting in his office at the Presidential Villa in Abuja to discuss the issue of the minimum wage.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met behind closed doors with representatives of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum over the disagreement between the organised labour and state governors on the proposed N30,000 minimum wage.

The News Agency of Nigeria had reported that the Amal Pepple Tripartite Committee on the Review of National Minimum Wage, had on Nov. 6, submitted its report to Buhari where it recommended N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.

While receiving the report, the president expressed his commitment to ensuring the implementation of a new national minimum wage and pledged to transmit an Executive bill (on National Minimum Wage) to the National Assembly for its passage within the shortest time possible.

He expressed the delight that the committee had successfully completed its assignment in a peaceful and non-controversial manner.

Buhari said that the Federal Government would soon transmit an Executive bill (on National Minimum Wage) to the National Assembly for its passage within the shortest time possible.

However, the 36 state governors had since expressed reservations over the proposed N30,000 new minimum wage by the Amal Pepple Committee, saying the state governments were not in a stable financial position to pay the new wage.

The Chairman of the Governors’ forum and Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Yari, had on Nov. 15, told newsmen at the end of an emergency meeting of the governors in Abuja that payment of N30,000 wage was impracticable.

NAN reports that representatives of the Governors’ forum, who met with the president over the issue, included Governors of Zamfara, Lagos, Kaduna, and Enugu States, while the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige was also in attendance.