Ngige says increment in minimum wage is not in sight as widely speculated

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, has said the inability of the state governors to agree on a particular figure has hampered the new minimum wage.

He was speaking at a press briefing in Obosi, in the Idemili Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Ngige said while the committee saddled with the responsibility to work out the modalities for the new wage had been active, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum had not been able to come up with any figure as a minimum wage they could pay.

He said he could not say when the new minimum wage would kick of.

”We have a tripartite committee on that. I am a member of the committee. I’m its deputy chairman, so to say. We have a timetable and we would have finished everything about it by the end of this August, but it is no longer tenable because the committee is not yet done with certain things.

“We couldn’t agree on a figure because of two reasons, partly the state governors have not come up with a figure and the state governors are a critical constituent of this discussion.

“We have six governors in the committee, one from each geopolitical zone. So, the NGF has not come up with their figure; they said they were still working on it; that was the last submission they made to us and the Federal Government team.

“We are working through the Economic Management Team and this team dictates the economy of the country and they will now take whatever the governors say and fine-tune it with that of the Federal Government. So, that is where we are.

“The national minimum wage tripartite committee is at work and it is until that body brings out its figures, brings out its recommendations pertaining to national minimum wage, it’s only after that, that a bill can be sent to the National Assembly for them to process and send to Mr President for assent before it can become a National Minimum Wage Act. If it happens in 2018, it becomes Act 2018.”