President Bola Tinubu has approved the sum of N500 million for the inauguration and funding of the 37-man Tripartite Committee on New National Minimum Wage.
A letter addressed to the President by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, which was uploaded on X by @PIDOMNIGERIA (99% OPPRESSED), the initial request submitted to Tinubu was a budget of N1 billion.
The letter titled, ‘Request For Approval Of Funds And Inauguration Of The Tripartite Committee On National Minimum Wage,’ reads: “This memorandum seeks your approval the following in respect of the above subject matter.
“i. The release of the sum of Orte Billion Naira (N1,000,000,000.00) only for the above exercise. This has been scaled down from N1.8Billion.
“ii. The 26th January, 2024 for the inauguration of the Committee. All relevant documents are hereby attached.
“2. The New Minimum Wage is expected to be ready by 1st April, 2024 according to Law.”
“3. Respectfully submitted M President’s consideration and approval Sir,” the letter added.
A handwritten response in the letter from the President instructed the committee to cut down their budget by 50% and start with the approved budget of N500 million.
“Start with N500million first,” the response read.
“The Minimum Wage Committee just allocated the maximum wage for themselves,” a former federal lawmaker, Shehu Sani said while commenting on the development via his X handle.
