President Bola Tinubu announced that a consensus has been reached between the Federal Government and organized labor on the long-debated new minimum wage.
In his national broadcast on Wednesday, marking the 2024 Democracy Day in Abuja, Tinubu stated that an executive bill would soon be sent to the National Assembly to formalize the new minimum wage agreement.
He said, “In this spirit, we have negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organized labor on a new national minimum wage. We shall soon send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of our law for the next five years or less.”
Related News: Minimum Wage Talks Expected to Conclude Today as Labour Awaits Tinubu’s Decision
Tinubu emphasized that his administration preferred a democratic approach over dictatorship in addressing labor union demands. “In the face of labor’s call for a national strike, we did not seek to oppress or crack down on the workers as a dictatorial government would have done.
We chose the path of cooperation over conflict. No one was arrested or threatened.
Instead, the labor leadership was invited to break bread and negotiate toward a good-faith resolution. Reasoned discussion and principled compromise are hallmarks of democracy. These themes shall continue to animate my policies and interaction with the constituent parts of our political economy,” he said.
The President vowed to ensure that no Nigerian is oppressed. “I take on this vital task without fear or favor, and I commit myself to this work until we have built a Nigeria where no man is oppressed. In the end, our national greatness will not be achieved by traveling the easy road.
It can only be achieved by taking the right one. The words of the American President Franklin Roosevelt certainly ring true: ‘There are many ways of going forward. But only one way of standing still.’”
Tinubu urged Nigerians to remain hopeful for a better future. “We dare not slumber lest the good things awaiting our immediate future pass us by. We dare not plant our feet in an idle standstill in the middle of the intersection of hope and despair. We know the proper way forward and we shall take it! The initial rays of a brighter tomorrow now appear on the early horizon.
You can also read: Finance Minister to Present Minimum Wage Template to President Tinubu Today