The Presidency has made an appeal to Nigerians, urging them to refrain from adding unnecessary pressure on President Bola Tinubu. They have assured that once the proposed bill on the new minimum wage is prepared, it will be transmitted to the National Assembly. Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, conveyed this message during a phone conversation, as reported.
This assurance follows the recent call by Organised Labour for the President to engage in consultations and reach an agreement with their leadership before sending the bill to the National Assembly.Tinubu’s failure to transmit the wage bill has caused a delay in the workers’ union’s much-awaited National Executive Committee meeting, which was supposed to accommodate around 300 Labour leaders.
On June 4, the NLC and the TUC convened a joint extraordinary National Executive Council meeting. The purpose of this emergency meeting was to decide whether to proceed with their strike or suspend it, considering the agreement they had reached with the government.During his Democracy Day broadcast, the President declared that a consensus had been achieved between the Federal Government and Labour regarding the new wage.
However, both the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress refuted this claim, indicating that no such agreement had been reached. One month after the President’s speech, Tinubu parted ways with the Labour camp, leaving Nigerians in a state of uncertainty regarding the intentions of the Federal Government. In response, Onanuga expressed confusion regarding the urgency surrounding the transmission of the bill.
Although he admitted being unaware of the submission date, the presidential aide pleaded for additional time, requesting patience from the public. This appeal comes a week after he reiterated his stance that the workers’ union’s demand for a N250,000 wage is not feasible, cautioning that the Federal Government cannot allocate all its resources to meet such a demand.
