Presidency has kept sealed lips on the status of the New National Minimum Wage BIll which was transmitted to the President this week.
Businessday checks at the Presidential Villa on Thursday could not established the authenticity of claims that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Bill into law.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Liaison (Senate), Ita Enang who spoke with BusinessDay via telephone interview declined to confirm or dismiss the claim, saying that he will rather exhaust all protocols before making any comment on the issue.
According to him, “I cannot give a yes or no answer at this moment because l want to follow and exhaust all necessary protocols,” he said.
BusinessDay also confirmed through other sources that the Bill which was passed by the Senate recently was transmitted to the President on Tuesday.
The President had on Monday received the Bismarck Rewane led Committee’s report on the New National Minimum Wage, which was inaugurated by the President in January 9th, 2019, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President had while receiving the report, assured that he will “ expedite action”on the reports of the Committee
The President had set up the committee headed by the renown Economist to advise Government on how best to fund, in a sustained manner, the additional costs of implementing the imminent increase in the National Minimum Wage.
The committee was also asked to advise the government “on the consequential increases in salaries and allowances for other employees, without worsening our already difficult fiscal condition, and without adversely impacting the nation’s development goals as set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP)”
The terms of reference also included “to propose a work plan and modalities for implementation of the salary increase”
“We will review this report expeditiously, as the process we may need to engage with some members of your committee. I therefore employ you to make your services available whenever we may call on you.”
The organised labour, had in December 2018, rejected any attempt by the Federal Government to set up another committee on the national minimum wage, describing any such plan as diversionary and delay tactics.
