NEC silent on new minimum wage, as Tinubu approves N155bn for food purchase

Against expectations, Governors of the 36 states of the Federation on Thursday kept quiet on the new national minimum wage proposed for workers after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu on the issue.
Also, the President has announced the approval of N155billion for the procurement of assorted food items to be distributed nationwide
Tinubu in apparent fulfillment of his promise to consult widely before making a recommendation on the minimum wage to the National Assembly, attended the National Economic Council, NEC meeting which was presided over by the Vice President Kashim Shettima in line with provision of 1999 Constitution as amended.
However, Governors who attended the NEC meeting declined comment over the controversial new minimum wage issue while fielding questions from State House correspondents after the parley ended in Abuja
Daily Champion recalls that the Governors had met on Wednesday night and took a position on the issue which they must have presented to Tinubu at the meeting.
However, they declined to speak on the issue while briefing correspondents after the meeting.
Before yesterday, the NGF had also insisted that they cannot pay the N60,000 initially proposed by the federal government during the minimum wage negotiations at the 37-man tripartite committee meeting
The federal government later increased the amount to N62,000 which the organised labour rejected and requested for N250,000 as minimum wage.
But briefing State House reporters after the meeting Thursday, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state, said that the adhoc committee on crude oil theft and the economy, also briefed the NEC on the plans to halt crude oil theft.
“We identified areas of leakages and made recommendations to strengthen the regulatory framework”, he stated.
He said the committee’s plan is work in progress and promised to come up with the full recommendations soon.
Meanwhile a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity on the meeting, said President Tinubu has approved the immediate rollout of the National Construction and Household Support Programme to cover all geo-political zones in the country.
The plan according to him, is aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, strengthen the economy by creating job opportunities in the real sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and construction, as well as provide urgent economic relief for Nigerians,
He said under the programme, the Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will traverse Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos has been prioritized.
Other road infrastructure projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is underway, and the Trans-Saharan Highway, which links Enugu, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Abuja, are also of topmost priority.
Besides, Tinubu also approved full counterpart financing for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway; to traverse Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno, as well as for the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway; which will traverse Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Niger, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano.
According to him, the Sokoto-Badagry road project is specially prioritized for its importance as some of the states it will traverse are strategic to the agricultural sustainability of the nation.
Part of the statement read: “Within the Sokoto-Badagry Highway corridor, there are 216 agricultural communities, 58 large and medium dams spread across six states, seven Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), 156 local government areas, 39 commercial cities and towns, and over 1 million hectares of arable land.
“In addition, he also approved one-off allocation to states and the Federal Capital Territory of N10 billion for the procurement of buses and CNG uplift programme.
“Delivery of N50,000 uplift grant each to 100,000 families per state for three months.
“Provision for labour unions and civil society organizations.
“Deployment of N155 billion for the purchase and sale of assorted foodstuff to be distributed across the nation.
Meanwhile, in his speech at the NEC meeting in Abuja, Tinubu urged state governors to work together to meet the needs of citizens, stating that he is willing to provide the needed support to ensure that Nigerians are relieved of hardship.
Stressing the urgent need to boost food production, Tinubu described the Sokoto-Badagry Highway as a pivotal project as the states within its axis form the food belt of the nation, and with Badagry being an important artery for food export.
“Our states must work together to deliver on the critical reforms required of us to meet the needs of our people. Time is humanity’s most precious asset. You can never have enough of it. It is getting late.
“We are ready and able to support you in the form of the mechanization of your agricultural processes and the provision of high-quality seedlings.
“We are prepared to provide solar powered irrigation facilities to support our farmers across seasons, but we must now produce. We must produce the food our people eat, and it will require coordination and intentionality between members of the NEC.
“There is nothing we are doing that is more important than producing high-quality food for our people to consume, buy, and sell. We create jobs in the production of it. And that is before we generate wealth by exporting the excess. It is not beyond us to achieve this for Nigerians.
“How much support do you need from me and in what form? I am prepared to provide it. But we must achieve the result. We must deliver on our targets at all levels. Please report back following your consultations and submit to my office within seven days,” he said.