Labour leaders arrive Villa  

Leaders of the organised Labour consisting of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria have arrived at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa for the second leg of talks on the national minimum wage.

A white State House-registered Coaster bus conveying the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, and the TUC President, Festus Osifo, and other leaders arrived at the forecourt of the Villa at 02:14 pm local time.

Per the President’s programme for the day, the 30-minute meeting was scheduled for 02:00 pm but was delayed as the visitors were still undergoing covid-19 tests and security checks.

Thursday’s meeting comes exactly one week after parties resolved to continue consultation over the proposals for the new national minimum wage.

President Bola Tinubu assured stakeholders that he is not opposed to a new wage but that parties must find a common figure that can be borne by the Federal and Sub-national Governments.

The Tripartite Committee on the new national minimum wage recently submitted figures to the President as the organised private sector and the government team had offered to pay N62,000.

However, the organised labour insisted on N250,000.

Following the disagreement, the President had delayed sending any figure to the National Assembly through an Executive Bill.

At Monday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, Tinubu had asked the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, to draft a bill to amend the 2024 budget to accommodate a new minimum wage.

Details later…