The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has submitted the projected cost implications of implementing a new national minimum wage to President Bola Tinubu.
The minister submitted the report on the implications of implementing a new minimum wage to the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.
The submission of the report is in line with a 48-hour ultimatum issued to Edun on Tuesday by the President.
The report outlined several potential new minimum wage levels along with the anticipated fiscal impacts on the federal budget of each option.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, had said the sum of N494,000 national minimum wage being demanded by organized labour, which cumulatively amounts to the sum of N9.5tn, is capable of destabilizing the economy and jeopardizing the welfare of over 200 million Nigerians.
Idris had stated this in Abuja in response to the threat by the organized labour to embark on strike if their demands were not met.
The Minister said even though Labour is keen on the take-home pay of about 1.2 million workers, the Federal Government is concerned with the welfare of over 200 million Nigerians based on its Guiding Principle of Affordability, Sustainability, and the overall health of the nation’s economy.