Following the lingering discussions on a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers, organised labour has said that it is not fixated on any figure.
The tripartite committee on minimum wage ended its deliberations last week, submitting two figures to President Bola Tinubu for consideration as the new minimum wage.
While the government and the organised private sector are proposing ₦62,000, organised labour is demanding ₦250,000 as the new minimum wage.
However, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, who was a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief on Friday, said no figure is sacrosanct as there is always room for adjustments.
“What we said is that for us when we give figures, there is always a room to meander, there is always a room for us to do some adjustment here and there,” Osifo said.
“So, there is no figure that is sacrosanct, there is no figure that is cast in stone that both parties will be fixated on it. One of the reasons that we went on industrial action the last time was because when it got to N60,000, they told us that a kobo cannot even join the N60,000, that they cannot even add one naira to it.
“So that was one of the reasons that led to that industrial action beyond the fact that there were also delays.”
President Tinubu is expected to send an executive bill to the National Assembly for legislative action.
The TUC President said that they are not going to pre-empt the President, but they are making all efforts to justify why Tinubu should tilt towards the figure presented by the labour instead of the one by the organised private sector and the government.
He said that if the President send a figure that is not favourable to the labour to the National Assembly, they will still approach the lawmakers and push them to do much more.
Osifo vowed that the work of the labour leaders will not end until the Minimum Wage Act 2024 becomes law. He said it is premature to predict what labour will do if what is passed is not acceptable to them at the end of the day.
Meanwhile, President Tinubu has said that he will only approve a new minimum wage that the government can afford.
He stated this on Wednesday at a dinner to mark Nigeria’s 25 years of unbroken democracy in Abuja.
“I have to celebrate with you my dear brother, Senate President, Deputy Senate President,” he said, adding that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and his deputy, Jibrin Barau would soon get an Executive Bill from him on the new minimum wage.
“The minimum wage is going to be what Nigerians can afford, what you can afford and what I can afford. Cut your coat according to your size, if you have size at all,” he said.
Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, says he pities President Tinubu if he approves an “unsustainable” minimum wage for workers in the country.
The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned that not all state governments and the organised private sector can pay the ₦62,000 proposed by the Federal Government and the ₦250,000 demand of organised labour.
Soludo spoke on Wednesday at The Platform Nigeria, a programme by Lagos-based church, Covenant Nation, to mark 2024 Democracy Day.
“But on the other hand, you have to come back to reality, talking about these MSMEs, the schools, churches, so on and so forth. You will have to pay your own driver. We are all in it. Whatever they agree, we will muddle through but may be after one year, we will need to meet to discuss the consequences.”
“I pity the President because it will all be on his head if the consequences come down, whatever it is, if whatever is negotiated is unsustainable or payable or whatever. Months to come, who will bear the responsibility? Not me.”
The discussions for a new minimum wage has lingered for months, with the tripartite committee ending with the two figures last week.
While labour dropped its earlier demand from ₦494,000 to ₦250,000, the government added ₦2,000 to its initial ₦60,000 and offered workers ₦62,000.
Both sides submitted their reports to the President, who is expected to make a decision and send an executive bill to the National Assembly to pass a new minimum wage bill to be signed into law by the President.
Super Falcons head coach Justine Madugu says he is not afraid of losing his job despite mounting pressure following Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Madugu’s future has come under intense scrutiny after the Super Falcons suffered a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in the decisive CAF play-off in Morocco.
The loss ended Nigeria’s remarkable record of qualifying for every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in 1991.
For the first time since 1991, Nigeria will miss the Women’s World Cup.
The pressure on Madugu intensified after the Super Falcons failed to secure automatic World Cup qualification at the WAFCON.
With calls growing for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to make changes to the technical setup, Madugu insists he is prepared to accept whatever decision the football authorities make.
The coach said representing Nigeria has been a privilege and that he has no fear of being relieved of his position.
“I am not afraid of being sacked. To the glory of God, I have served my country. It was a privilege that was given to me,” Madugu said.
He added, “So far, I have played almost 28 games, won 19, lost four and drawn four. But this defeat came at crucial moments that people did not expect.”
Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, says it is the responsibility of the government to use public funds to support marriage arrangements in states operating under Shariah law.
In a post on his Facebook page on Thursday, Gumi argued that governments in Shariah-governed societies have a duty to address social needs arising from the prohibition of sexual relationships outside marriage.
The Islamic scholar noted that government intervention to assist people who cannot afford marriage should be viewed as part of responsible governance, especially where prostitution, fornication, adultery and promiscuity are prohibited by both religious principles and state laws.
According to him, public resources could legitimately be used to support young people in urgent need of marriage, as well as women who face limited opportunities to find suitable spouses.
“In a Shariah law-driven state, where prostitution, fornication, adultery, and promiscuity are prohibited by both divine and state laws, using public funds to facilitate the marriage of women who are in excess of the available pool of eligible men, or of any young person in dire need of marriage, is a legitimate and responsible component of good governance,” he wrote.
President Bola Tinubu decried the big task of successfully managing a democratic government, highlighting what he described as
It’s twists, turns, hills and valleys, even as the president assured Nigerians that the nation’s refineries will bounce back.
The President also lamented that the expected benefits from the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) are going into the pockets of truck owners.
This came as the President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, pleaded with President Tinubu to help stop the casualisation of workers in the oil industry.
Speaking when he received the NUPENG leadership at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President said the union has been a very good partner in government’s progress.
“You occupy a very critical nerve of the economy of this country,” he said.
He recalled the promise he made while seeking the presidency that he would remove the fuel subsidy and the threat by oil and gas workers to down tools. “We had threat of possible strike and something, and I served notice; you may strike all you want, but fuel subsidy will be gone. And today, to the benefit of our great country.”
“I will soon publish how it is being utilized,” he said, adding that workers at local, state and federal levels are reaping the benefits of subsidy removal through prompt payment of salaries, while landmark infrastructural projects are underway across the country.
“Yes, the economy is not child’s play. It’s a system of financial re-engineering and reset that you impress, and I want to thank you for the cooperation, collaboration and understanding.
“But I’m glad you have seen the effect of being able to find funding for long-term projects: Lagos–Ibadan Road, Abuja–Kaduna, Abuja–Kano, Sokoto–Badagry and other highways and road networks. It’s all for the good of our people and our economy.
“Equally, the introduction of compressed natural gas — well, I will appeal to you: we will do more and encourage you, but ask your drivers to let the benefits trickle down to commuters too, because whatever benefit is coming from CNG is going into the pockets of truck owners. It’s not spreading as fast as I would like, but it should spread.
“The refineries you mentioned are going to come back to work. We’re just building a very firm reset and structural reworking of the economics of it. Ordinary flame and smoke from a refinery doesn’t mean that it’s working until it’s profitable and yields the value for which it was built.
“I’m not a man who will look back and blame everyone, because I’ve accepted the assets and liabilities of my predecessors. No matter what happened in the past years, it’s my responsibility now as President to fix it and make it work for the greatest common good of our population. I take responsibility for that, and I’m going to do it.”
He added: “It’s not easy to manage a democratic regime, full of twists and turns, hills and valleys. But through perseverance, endurance and good determination we can bring about relief — like the joy of a newborn baby after a difficult pregnancy. Motherhood is painful, but the joy is everlasting. I promise you, you will enjoy a better Nigeria.”
Speaking earlier, NUPENG president Comrade Oladiti appealed to the President to check the casualisation of workers in the oil industry.
The NUPENG president, who described the trend as unwholesome, expressed concern that efforts to make oil companies, particularly in the upstream sector, stop the practice have been constantly rebuffed.
He said: “Your Excellency, our relationship with the international oil companies and indigenous players in the upstream sector has been very cordial. However, we want to seize this opportunity to bring to your attention an unhealthy trend we have been trying to correct with little to no success. It is the casualisation of workers, particularly in the upstream sector.
“For a sector that is strategic and taken as the economic jugular of the nation, NUPENG and its counterpart PENGASSAN have been tolerating these unwholesome practices, knowing full well the enormous disruption that any industrial action could cause to the economy.
“We also do not want to be seen as hostile to the Minister of Labour, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, who has been very supportive and operates an open-door policy in his relationship with our union.
“We have engaged the management of some of the affected companies without results. Mr. President, we urge you to use your good offices to stop the casualisation of workers in our sector.”
While commending the present administration for rehabilitation and dualisation of federal highways — which he noted will ease movement of petroleum trucks — Oladiti also appealed to President Tinubu to see to the resuscitation of the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC) depots across the country.
He maintained that injecting life into the depots would complement the ongoing efforts to revive the ailing refineries.
He said: “We’ve seen real progress in the rehabilitation of federal highways, making journeys safer for our tanker drivers.
“We also want to commend your administration’s move to revive the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries through partnership with Chinese firms. Your Excellency, we humbly request that the same energy and drive to inject life back into the refineries be extended to the decaying Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company depots across the country.
“We strongly recommend they be handed over to private investors to manage under an equity arrangement.”
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