Nigeria: Press spotlights deadlock in minimum wage meeting between Labour, Govt, others

The report that the tripartite minimum wage negotiation meeting involving Organised Labour, the federal and state governments and the Organized Private Sector, OPS, yesterday ended in deadlock, following Labour’s dismissal of the government’s N54,000 offer as expected is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Vanguard newspaper reports that the tripartite minimum wage negotiation meeting involving Organised Labour, the federal and state governments, and the Organized Private Sector, OPS, yesterday ended in deadlock, following Labour’s dismissal of the government’s N54,000 offer as expected. Labour leaders also lamented the absence of state governors in the meeting to present their offers, as their representatives said they had no mandate.
However, Vanguard gathered that the meeting will reconvene today by 4 pm.
According to sources, labour leaders insisted that the Federal Government has not made an offer and that it appears the government is not serious and that the N54,000 offer falls below the N77,000 salary its workers are earning.
Before the meeting adjourned for today, it was agreed that governors must attend to make presentations.
Confirming the development, a member of the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage, Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, lamented the absence of six governors who represent the six geopolitical zones, stressing that it would not augur well if any agreement was reached without the governors.
Professor Ndubuaku reiterated the May 31 deadline labour had given to the government to conclude negotiations.
The newspaper says that the Naira yesterday appreciated in the parallel market to N1,470 per dollar from N1,475 per dollar on Monday.
Similarly, the Naira appreciated to N1,465.68 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM fell to N1,465.68 per dollar from N1,468.99 per dollar on Monday, indicating N3.31 appreciation for the naira.
Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rates narrowed to N4.32 per dollar from N6.01 per dollar on Monday..
The Punch reports that members of the Organised Private Sector and economists have expressed fear over the latest hike in the nation’s benchmark interest (Monetary Policy Rate) by the Monetary Policy Committee, saying the decision could significantly hamper economic operators’ ability to repay their loans.
At the end of its 295th meeting on Tuesday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, who also doubles as the chairman of the MPC, announced the decision of the committee.
The MPC raised the interest rate by 150 basis points to 26.25 per cent from 24.74 per cent.
Tuesday’s MPR hike became the third consecutive rise in the benchmark interest rate this year.
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Since February when the MPC resumed, the policymakers have increased the MPR by 750 basis points.
The MPR was increased by 400 basis points from 18.75 per cent to 22.75 per cent in February. It was increased by 200 basis points to 24.75 per cent in March.
In a press briefing held after the MPC meeting on Tuesday, Cardoso defended the decision to hike the MPR again.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Government has approved a $750m World Bank funding for the construction of 1,200 mini-grids in rural communities across Nigeria.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this Tuesday while addressing newsmen at the Alliance for Rural Electrification Energy Access Forum held in Lagos.
According to Aliyu, President Bola Tinubu approved the fund for the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up project, which aimed at providing energy access to Nigerians in rural communities.
Aliyu noted that about 19 million of the 85 million Nigerians without access to energy would be provided electricity under the scheme.
While noting that Nigeria has the highest electricity gap in the world, Aliyu stated that the Federal Government was doing a lot to bridge the gap.
The REA boss explained that the fund would be used as a capital subsidy to incentivise the private sector to electrify 23 per cent of the total unelectrified Nigerians,
Aliyu stated, “The Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu approved the Biggest public sector-funded off-grid project across the entire world. It is a $750m project where REA will use that funding as a capital subsidy to incentivise the private sector to electrify 23 per cent of the total unelectrified Nigerians, and we are very clear about how we want to achieve that.
“We want to provide three million Nigerians with electricity access using isolated mini-grids; 1.5 million Nigerians with electricity through interconnected mini-grids and and also about 15.5 million Nigerians with solar system mesh-grids.
“We also intend to use that funding to capitalise private sector funding to provide over 40,000 farmers with productive use of equipment to enhance their productivity.”
He said the Federal Government is currently implementing one phase of the Nigeria Electrification Project, a $550m project funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
GIK/APA