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Buhari Did Not Mention N30,000 As The New Minimum Wage – Femi Adesina

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Buhari Did Not Mention N30,000 As The New Minimum Wage - Femi Adesina
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari did not make mention of N30,000 as the new minimum wage of workers when the report of the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee was presented on Tuesday.

In a statement, he released on Thursday, via his Facebook page, Adesina said, the Presidency was concerned about the reports that Buhari had backtracked on his promise to pay the new N30,000 demanded by labour.

The statement reads:

The Presidency is concerned over recurring reports alleging that President Muhammadu Buhari has reneged on earlier acceptance of the N30,000 recommended as the new National Minimum Wage by the National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee.

These reports are contrary to what transpired on Tuesday when the committee presented its Report to the President. Responding, President Buhari, while acknowledging the concerns raised by government on affordability and labour’s focus on meaningful increase, stated clearly in a speech, which was made available to the media:

In a way, both arguments are valid. I want to assure you all that we will immediately put in place the necessary machinery that will close out these open areas.

Our plan is to transmit an Executive Bill to the National Assembly for passage within the shortest possible time. I am fully committed to having a new National Minimum Wage Act in the very near future.

As the Executive Arm commences its review of your submission, we will continue to engage you all in closing any open areas presented in this report. I, therefore, would like to ask for your patience and understanding in the coming weeks.”

From the above, and throughout the report-submission ceremony, the President never mentioned any figure. What he committed himself to was a new minimum wage, and only after the Report of the committee has been reviewed by the executive and legislative processes of government and an appropriate bill presented to him for assent.

“Until the proposed minimum wage has gone through the whole gamut of law-making, President Buhari, who is a stickler for due process, will not be caught in this unnecessary web of controversy, which amounts to putting the cart before the horse and hair-splitting.

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