President Bola Tinubu said on Thursday that he was delighted with the outcome of the national minimum wage negotiations.
Tinubu said he had to intervene in the negotiations, knowing the economic challenges faced by many Nigerians, and the need to provide urgent succour.
He said this at a meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja.
“I have heard all your presentations. You came here with the intention to get something on behalf of your members. It has been tough globally. And if you review my track record, I have never been found wanting to ameliorate the problem of workers.
“I belong to the people and to all of you in leadership. Without you, this job is not interesting,” the President said, in a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, his spokesman.
He said the labour leaders challenged the thinking faculty of leadership, “and we have reviewed the position. I have consulted widely, and when the tripartite committee submitted their reports, I reviewed them again and started to think and rethink.
“Last week, I brought the workload to you because we have a timeline. We have a problem, and we recognise that you have a problem too.
“We are in the same economy. We are in the same country. We may have different rooms, different addresses, and different houses; we are just members of one family that must care for each other.
“We must look at the parameters of things. Here, I have a speed limit, and I must pay attention to traffic warnings, slippery when wet, curved roads, and be careful not to have an accident. That is why I went as far as having this meeting today.”
He said the government and labour leaders were driving the economy together.
“Let us look at the tenure of review. Let us agree on that, and affirm three years. Two years is too short. We affirm three years. We will review it.
“I am going to move from the tripartite committee. I am going to edge a little bit forward, looking at the review that we have done.
“Yes, no one in the federal establishment should earn less than N70,000. So, we are going to benchmark at N70,000,” he said.
