- Says He Will Only Approve A minimum Wage that Is Affordable
By Abiola Olawale
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has played down a clumsy moment which occurred to him on Wednesday at Eagle Square in Abuja.
Reacting to the viral clip of him, the President said he only prostrated for democratic rule in Nigeria.
The New Diplomat reports that the number one citizen of the Country lost his steps and stumbled when he was about to enter a truck en route to a parade at Eagle Square to commemorate Democracy Day, on Wednesday.
In an apparent manner to play down the incident, Tinubu, who at a dinner to mark Nigeria’s 25 years of unbroken Democracy in Abuja, joked that he was only paying homage to democracy in the Yoruba style.
According to him, while celebrating Democracy, “I ‘dobale’ for democracy,” (meaning I bowed for Democracy).
Also, during the dinner, Tinubu said he would only approve a new minimum wage that the government can afford.
According to him, the government will cut its coat according to its size.
He said: “The minimum wage is going to be what Nigerians can afford, what you can afford and what I can afford. Cut your coat according to your size, if you have size at all,” he said.
The President also promised to bring down the prices of food by tackling the menace of banditry that has forced many farmers away from their farms.
The New Diplomat reports that it appears that the Federal Government and organised labour are yet to reach a consensus on the new minimum wage.
While Tinubu during his Democracy Day address had stated that an agreement had been reached on the new national minimum wage, the unions had come out to refute the claim.
Acting President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Prince Adewale Adeyanju, said as of the time negotiations ended on June 7, no agreement had been reached by the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage.
It would be recalled that on Friday, June 7, 2024, the two sides (labour and the government) failed to reach an agreement. While labour dropped again its demand from ₦494,000 to ₦250,000, the government added ₦2,000 to its initial ₦60,000 and offered workers ₦62,000.
