FG constitutes 29-member National Minimum Wage Committee, approves National Forest Trust Fund to boost IGR

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the setting up of a 29-member National Minimum Wage Committee to negotiate and arrive at a new minimum wage in the country.
The meeting was presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, said this when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the Council held in the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday.
He stated that the approval of the committee followed the council’s deliberation on the report of the joint committee of government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Ngige said that membership of the committee would be drawn from Governors’ Forum, organised private sector and labour federation.
According to him, the chairman and secretary of the committee will be appointed by the Federal Government.
“Today, the Council deliberated on the report of the joint committee of government on one side and the labour federation of the NLC and TUC.
“If you recall, on May 11, 2016, there was a deregulation of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria and this resulted in the increase we had in the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
“As a result of that, the labour union kicked against the increase and said that even if the increase will be there, government should put in place mechanisms to make sure that we don’t have further increases.
 
“That is why they said the Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Board (PPRB) should be put in place.’’
 
Osinbajo said that labour also asked for review of the National Minimum Wage for workers in the country in order to enable them have better purchasing power.
 
“Prior to this increase, they had made a demand of N56,000 monthly as the lowest wage payable to any Nigerian worker and thirdly they need some palliatives to cushion the effect of the increase in the pump price of petrol.
 
“So, government put in place a committee and that committee finished its work on April 24 and handed its report to Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
 
“Today at the council, I presented the report with various recommendations therein and I’m happy to let you know that government approved the setting up of National Minimum Wage committee,’’ he said.
 
According to the minister, the Federal Government will present six members of the committee from the public sector; Governors’ Forum will select six governors (one from each geo-political zone), and labour federation will present eight persons.
 
He added that the organised employers association would jointly present eight persons as members of the committee.
 
The minister, however, revealed that the chairman and secretary of the 29-member committee would be appointed by the Federal Government.
 
Ngige reassured that the government would commence the payment of arrears of salaries and promotion, death benefits and other outstanding allowances of workers to boost their morale.
FEC also approved the setting up of a National Forest Trust Fund meant to ensure sustainable forest development and boost revenue generation in the country.
The Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman, made this known while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the Council, presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
According to the minister, the fund will be financed by major wood stakeholders in the country.
Usman, who addressed the reporters alongside the Minister of Interior, Retired Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, announced the lifting of embargo on the issuance of certificate to all categories of wood exporters in the country.
In his contribution, Udoma revealed that the first quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures released by the National Bureau for Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday was encouraging and indicated that government interventions were working.
He also disclosed that the 2017 budget which was officially transmitted to the Presidency on Friday “is still being reviewed and analysed by different ministers, thereafter recommendations will be made to the President before it is signed.’’
Udoma said the Council reviewed and deliberated on the first quarter report which was released on Tuesday and regarded it the best report so far in four quarters.
He added that “we found the first quarter GDP performance encouraging, the best we have had in four quarters and it is a sign that we are moving out of recession.
“We realised that we still have to work very hard and we will continue with the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.
“We believe that the interventions we are making and the steps we are taking are in the right direction.
“The results that were released were for one-quarter. There are still three-quarters and we have enough time to do better; we will work hard to continue to stimulate the economy to meet our target.”
He added that government was particularly encouraged by the manufacturing sector that grew at 1.36 per cent.
The NBS report showed that in the first quarter of 2017, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by –0.52per cent (year-on-year) in real terms, representing the second consecutive quarter of a soft contraction.
Agriculture grew at a slower rate of about 3.4 per cent, while manufacturing sector grew by 1.36 per cent in Q1 2017 after falling to an all-time low of -7.0per cent in Q1 2016.
The solid mineral sector grew in double digit growth for metal ores and quarrying at 40.79 per cent and 52.54 per cent, while the oil sector remained negative at -11.64 per cent although there was an over six percentage point improvement in its fortunes from the previous quarter.
The non-oil sector which accounted for about 90 per cent of GDP returned to positive growth, although at a marginal level of 0.72 per cent in Q1 2017.
Also, headline inflation fell for the third month in a row to 17.24 per cent, with core inflation also declining quite rapidly.
The Minister of Interior told the correspondents that the Federal Government would partner with state governments in decongesting prisons across the country.
He said the Council had directed that a proposal for decongestion and expansion of prisons, as well as establishment of six ‘half-way houses’ across the country be presented to the National Economic Council (NEC) for more input.
He noted that the country’s deplorable prison conditions were worsened by the fact that “70 per cent of inmates are awaiting trial, for even as long as 11 years, while five per cent of the remaining 30 per cent are on death row.
“The plan is to release some of the inmates through prerogative of mercy in conjunction with state governors; expansion and relocation of congested prisons as some states have agreed to provide adequate land for this.
“Also one half-way house will be established in each geopolitical zone to prepare inmates for reintegration into the society shortly before their release.’’