Buhari says it's better to get N18,000 minimum wage than get nothing

President Muhammadu Buhari believes that it's better for Nigerian workers to get N18,000 as national minimum wage than get nothing considering the nation's unemployment figures.

The country's organised labour has been negotiating with the Buhari government for over a year to increase the minimum wage for workers nationwide.

In November 2018, Buhari received the recommendation of a tripartite committee he had set up in 2017 to propose a new minimum wage. The president expressed his commitment towards getting the recommendation passed by the National Assembly as soon as possible, with the new wage pegged at N30,000.

When asked during an interview with Arise News, published on Monday, January 7, 2019, if N18,000 is a decent wage, the president said it's better than getting nothing.

He noted that the fact that states are struggling to pay workers makes it difficult to enforce a higher national minimum wage which could add to the nation's already high population of unemployed people.

He said, "There are states owing up to six months salary. Now, if I say they should pay N30,000 and they can't pay, can you afford to create more unemployment?

"I think it's better you get N18,000 than to get nothing. This is what I believe."

Despite what many had assumed to be the logical conclusion of the issue in November, the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) continues to insist that states might have to resort to tough measures to afford the proposed wage.

After an emergency meeting on November 14, 2018, NGF chairman and Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari, said organised labour would have to agree to a nationwide downsizing of the workforce for the effective implementation of the new proposed wage.

When he presented the 2019 appropriation bill to the National Assembly in December, President Buhari disclosed that he would set up a technical committee to advise on ways of funding an increase in the minimum wage, and the attendant wage adjustments, without having to resort to additional borrowings.

"The work of this Technical Committee will be the basis of a Finance Bill which will be submitted to the National Assembly, alongside the Minimum Wage Bill.

"In addition, the Technical Committee will recommend modalities for the implementation of the new minimum wage in such a manner as to minimize its inflationary impact, as well as ensure that its introduction does not lead to job losses," he said.

He said the committee would help the Federal and State governments to avoid a fiscal crisis with the proposed new wage.