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NLC, TUC jointly propose N615,000 new minimum wage
NLC, TUC jointly propose N615,000 new minimum wage
Organised labour, comprising the Nigerian Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, has demanded N615,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the country.
An impeccable source, who is an executive of organised labour, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, told PUNCH that the new wage of N615,000 monthly was reached after consultations by the NLC and TUC.
The source, who was a member of one of the sub-committees set up by the government to work on getting a new minimum wage for the country, however, said the wage might still increase, following the recent hike in electricity tariff.
The source said, “We (NLC and TUC) have given our figures to the government (on the minimum wage), and it is N615,000. That is the position of the NLC and TUC on the matter. The government has been informed as well.”
President Bola Tinubu, through Vice President Kashim Shettima, had on January 30, set up a 37-member panel at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja.
With its membership cutting across federal and state governments, the private sector, and organised labour, the panel was tasked with recommending a new national minimum wage.
At the inaugural meeting of the panel, Shettima urged members to ‘speedily’ arrive at a resolution, and submit their reports early as the current N30,000 minimum wage expired at the end of March 2024.
Chairing the panel is a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Aji, who, at the inauguration ceremony, affirmed that its members would come up with a ‘fair, practical, implementable and sustainable’ minimum wage.
The inauguration followed months of agitation from organised labour over the FG’s failure to inaugurate the new national minimum wage committee as promised during negotiations last October.
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From the government’s side, members include the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, representing the Minister of Labour and Employment; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who was represented by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Lydia Jafiya; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Yemi Esan; and Permanent Secretary, GSO/OSGF, Dr Nnamdi Mbaeri, among others.
Representing the Nigeria Governors Forum are Mohammed Bago of Niger State, representing the North Central; Senator Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, representing the North East; Umar Radda of Katsina State, representing the North West; Charles Soludo of Anambra State, representing the South East; Senator Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, for the South West; and Otu Bassey of Cross River State, on behalf of the South-South.
From the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association is the Director-General of the association, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde; Chuma Nwankwo, Thompson Akpabio; as well as members from the Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, including Michael Olawale-Cole, Ahmed Rabiu, and Humphrey Ngonadi.
From organised labour, the Nigeria Labour Congress is represented by its president, Joe Ajaero; as well as President of the TUC, Festus Osifo; and his deputy, Tommy Etim-Okon, among others.
Ajaero had announced N1m as the new minimum wage, owing to the rising inflation in the country which, according to him, had pushed many of his members into poverty.
This led to several controversies, with some experts stating that the wage was unrealisable or sustainable.
However, in an interview with one of our correspondents, another labour leader stated that the NLC and TUC had pegged the new wage at N615,000 tentatively.
Asked if the May 1 deadline was still on course, the labour leader said, “What I want you to know is that we are doing our best. Both the TUC and NLC have harmonised, and they have sent their position to the government.
“We are in the process. Be assured that once anything happens, I will, as usual, inform you. That is all I can tell you for now, because we have not met; even though we have submitted our unified positions to the Federal Government. We will be speaking with one voice.
“But, let me also hint you that with the removal of the electricity tariff subsidy, we are going to have another round of serious conversations with the government. Mind you, the tariff increase is also very good for us, because they (the government) did it when the new minimum wage process had not been concluded. So, it is going to be a good ground for us to ask for more.
“Our position will be defended based on the new price of N225 per kWh of electricity. Although we (the government and Labour) are not in agreement, we are waiting to meet and decide on the next point of action.”
The source added, “This is because if you look at the Electricity Act, it canvassed a position that before any increase at all, there must be stakeholders’ engagement. However, the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission unilaterally imposed the removal of the electricity tariff on the consumers, without recourse to stakeholders. That is in total defiance to the provisions of the Act.
“These are the issues that will be in the front burner of our next negotiation with the Federal Government.
“The new tariff will also give us another strategy to press the government on the need to move the minimum wage upward. This is because the government has not announced any new minimum wage yet, as we are still negotiating.
“As I said, the NLC and TUC have harmonised positions, which we have sent to the government. It is even now that the negotiation will start properly. All that we have done so far was to try to lay the foundation, and now that we have come up with our positions, the government will also come up with their own. We will then start a fresh negotiation.”
NLC, TUC jointly propose N615,000 new minimum wage
Punch
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Saudi Crown Prince assures Tinubu of govt support
Saudi Crown Prince assures Tinubu of govt support
The Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has assured Nigeria of support in its economic reform programmes.
The assurance came when the Crown Prince and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu met on Monday in Riyadh on the sidelines of the joint Arab-Islamic Summit.
Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
He said the two leaders explored potential areas for cooperation, particularly oil and gas, agriculture, infrastructure and the constitution of the Saudi-Nigeria Business Council.
Nigeria wants an agreement with the Saudi government over a proposed $5 billion bilateral trade facility between the two countries.
The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company, SALIC, invested $1.24 billion in 2022 to acquire a 35.43% stake in Olam Agri, one of Nigeria’s leading agricultural firms.
Talks are being held so that SALIC can have more stake in the company.
The Saudis hoped the investment would make Olam one of the biggest agro-allied businesses in the world.
The Crown Prince commended President Tinubu’s economic reforms, noting similarities to his steps to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s stability and development when he became Prime Minister.
He also assured Nigeria of his support and promised to motivate his team to realise the various areas of partnerships discussed at the meeting.
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At the meeting with the Crown Prince were the Saudi Minister of National Guard, Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Defense, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, and several senior officials.
Meanwhile, the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit has renewed the mandate of Nigeria and other member states on the Ministerial Committee assigned to engage with global leaders in seeking an end to the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon.
This decision was part of the resolution issued after the extraordinary Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 11, 2024.
President Bola Tinubu and other leaders from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, and the League of Arab States were in attendance.
The Joint Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was formed by a resolution at the First Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh on November 11, 2023.
The group includes the foreign ministers of Nigeria, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Palestine, and Jordan.
In its final resolution, the summit urged the Ministerial Committee to “intensify its efforts and expand them to include working on ending the aggression on Lebanon.”
The committee will submit periodic reports, which the secretariats of the OIC and the League of Arab States will circulate to member states.
The Committee has also been tasked with further engaging actors across the Global South in the efforts to strengthen international support towards ending the war and Israeli occupation.
The resolution stressed the importance of protecting sea lanes by rules of international law and welcomed the signing of the tripartite mechanism by the League of Arab States, OIC, and the African Union to support the Palestinian cause.
The summit praised the African Union’s steadfast support of Palestine.
The leaders condemned recent Israeli military actions in northern Gaza, describing them as “crimes of genocide,” including allegations of torture, executions, disappearances, and “ethnic cleansing.”
They also criticised ongoing efforts to solidify Israel’s presence in occupied East Jerusalem, reaffirming it as the “eternal capital” of Palestine and calling for the unification of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem under a sovereign Palestinian state.
The resolution reiterated “the full sovereignty of the State of Palestine over occupied East [Jerusalem], the eternal capital of Palestine”. It rejected any Israeli actions aimed at altering the city’s identity or consolidating its occupation.
The summit also expressed unwavering support for Lebanon’s security, stability, sovereignty, and the safety of its citizens.
Saudi Crown Prince assures Tinubu of govt support
News
Two Nigerian companies developed contactless passport renewal – FG
Two Nigerian companies developed contactless passport renewal – FG
The Federal Government has revealed that the contactless passport renewal solution, which went live in Canada on November 1, 2024, was developed by two Nigerian software companies.
The disclosure was made by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, during the Politics Today programme on Channels Television on Tuesday.
Tunji-Ojo explained that the Federal Government deliberately chose to trust indigenous technology for the project.
“The solution is completely indigenous. We did not go to look for foreign technology. We got Nigerian technology – the two companies/vendors that came together to develop the solution are Nigerian software companies,” he said.
The minister expressed confidence in the solution, citing his over two decades of experience as an IT cybersecurity expert and his extensive history as a project manager on numerous occasions.
He did not, however, mention the names of the companies, and at this time, they are not yet publicly known.
The Interior Minister emphasized that the contactless passport renewal solution is designed to alleviate the challenges faced by Nigerians in the diaspora, such as long travel distances, accommodation costs, and taking time off work to renew passports.
He shared specific examples of Nigerians in Canada and London who had to cancel lectures or miss work to complete their passport renewal process.
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While acknowledging that the new solution has encountered some initial hitches, Tunji-Ojo reassured Nigerians that these issues would be addressed.
Tunji-Ojo also clarified that delays in passport issuance, such as those reported by some Nigerians in Canada who experienced waiting times of up to 42 days after using the contactless passport renewal process, are not linked to the system itself.
- Instead, he attributed the delays to the limited processing capacity of Nigerian embassies. For instance, he said that the UK embassy, which has received over 48,000 passport renewal applications (note: the contactless renewal system is not yet available in the UK and is currently exclusive to Canada), can only process 300 applications per day, leading to significant backlogs.
- The Interior Minister explained that the contactless system leverages biometric databases, facial recognition, and live authentication checks, enabling applicants to renew their passports via a mobile app without visiting the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) office.
- However, the system applies only to Nigerians aged 18 and above with existing biometric records, as first-time applicants must still visit the NIS office for interviews and biometric capture.
- The Federal Government plans to expand the contactless passport renewal solution to other countries in the coming weeks.
Additionally, a centralized personalization center is being established in Abuja, equipped with advanced machines capable of printing up to 32,000 passports daily, to improve the efficiency of passport issuance.
Two Nigerian companies developed contactless passport renewal – FG
News
New Edo Gov Okpebholo takes oath of office, Shettima, others present
New Edo Gov Okpebholo takes oath of office, Shettima, others present
Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday led the Federal Government delegation to the inauguration of Monday Okpebholo as a brand new governor of Edo State.
Other dignitaries at the event are Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, chair of the governors forum; and Philip Shaibu, the reinstated deputy governor of Edo.
Many sitting state governors across the country elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that also graced the ceremony are Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Hope Uzodinma of Imo, and Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto, among others.
The National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, and his predecessor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, were also at the ceremony, held inside the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin.
Okpebholo took his oath of office at about 1pm on Tuesday.
Dennis Idahosa was also sworn in as Edo deputy governor.
The new governor rode in an open-top van round the stadium while acknowledging cheers from supporters.
As candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Okpebholo won the September 21 off-cycle governorship election in the state.
He polled 291,667 votes to defeat Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who came second with 247,274 votes.
Olumide Akpata, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), came third with 22,763 votes.
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