The approval of a N25,000 short-term allowance for junior government employees for the ensuing six months has been announced by President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, the approval came after talks with labour unions and other business community partners to raise the federal minimum wage without causing excessive inflation.
President Tinubu made this pronouncement during his Independence Day message broadcast live from Abuja.
He said, “For the next six months, the average low-grade worker shall receive an additional N25,000 per month.”
The President, who acknowledged the suffering of Nigerians since the scrapping of petrol subsidy at his inauguration on May 29, 2023, said he was not happy watching citizens shouldering burdens that would have been shed a long time ago.
He said the reforms initiated by his administration were necessary to rid the system of the grip of those he called “a select and greedy few.”
Tinubu stated, “I am attuned to the hardships that have come. I have a heart that feels and eyes that see. I wish to explain to you why we must endure this trying moment.
“Reform may be painful, but it is what greatness and the future require. We now carry the costs of reaching a future Nigeria where the abundance and fruits of the nation are fairly shared among all, not hoarded by a select and greedy few; a Nigeria where hunger, poverty and hardship are pushed into the shadows of an ever-fading past.
“There is no joy in seeing the people of this nation shoulder burdens that should have been shed years ago. I wish today’s difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future.”
He outlined the path his administration was taking to relieve the stress on families and households, saying, “We have embarked on several public sector reforms to stabilise the economy, direct fiscal and monetary policies to fight inflation, encourage production, ensure the security of lives and property and lend more support to the poor and the vulnerable.
“Based on our talks with labour, business and other stakeholders, we are introducing a provisional wage increment to enhance the federal minimum wage without causing undue inflation.”
