The Federal Government is set to implement a new minimum wage from April 1, 2024. This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, on Thursday, November 30, in Abuja.
Mohammed disclosed that the existing minimum wage of N30,000 would expire at the end of March 2024.
He said that the Federal Government’s proposed expenditure included N24.66 trillion for salaries in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Recall that following the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, the Federal Government agreed to pay N35,000 to each of its workers to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.
However, the organised Labour insisted that the N35,000 wage award was a temporary measure, adding that the minimum wage should be reviewed in 2024.
On his part, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed, said that the improved take-home pay was meant to replace the temporary palliative measure put in place by the government to ameliorate the hardship caused by the fuel subsidy removal.
New Wage Regime
He said, “Certainly, there is a new wage regime that will come in on April 1, 2024. That is why these palliatives were targeted so they would cushion economic hardship before then. In our negotiation with Labour, we said that the wage issue was not something one could just fix. A committee that will also involve Labour itself will work on it.
“The committee is being constituted and we are talking to Labour about it. And by the time this current wage regime expires by the end of March, we will expect that a new wage will begin by April. It is in this wage regime that we will now have a proper salary structure for workers across the length and breadth of Nigeria. We expect that the private sector and state governors will also do the same.”
A top official of the NLC, said the organised Labour had initiated talks with the government
He said, “By April 1, 2024, the current minimum wage will expire. We have all agreed to set up a national wage negotiation committee, and that the committee should comprise all parties.’’