The National Assembly has reduced the allocation for minimum wage and salary-related payments for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) by 45% in the approved 2024 budget.
President Bola Tinubu initially proposed a budget of N1 trillion for Public Service Wage Adjustment for MDAS (including Arrears of Promotion and Salary Increases & Payment of Severance benefits and Minimum Wage Related Adjustments).
However, the approved budget by the National Assembly, now signed by the president, reflects a significant reduction to N550 billion for the same fiscal item, indicating a decrease of N450 billion from the proposed amount.
The Nigerian Government earlier announced a revised minimum wage to be implemented starting April 1, 2024. The existing minimum wage of N30,000 is slated to end by March 2024.
Idris Mohammed, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, revealed that a new wage regime would come into effect on April 1, 2024. The government is in talks with labour to constitute a committee to work on the new wage structure.
He said:
“Certainly, there Is a new wage regime that will come in on April 1, 2024. That is why these palliatives were targeted so they would cushion economic hardship before then. In our negotiation with Labour, we said that the wage issue was not something one could just fix. A committee that will also involve Labour itself will work on it.
“The committee is being constituted and we are talking to Labour about it. And by the time this current wage regime expires by the end of March, we will expect that a new wage will begin by April.
“It is in this wage regime that we will now have a proper salary structure for workers across the length and breadth of Nigeria. We expect that the private sector and state governors will also do the same.”
Also, President Bola Tinubu expressed the Federal Government’s commitment to implement a new national living wage for w
