The Federal Government has said that the new minimum wage being proposed will take effect from May 1, 2024. The Minister of State Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, stated this on Wednesday while addressing Nigerian workers at the May Day celebration in Abuja.

Political Economist NG reports that no amount has been agreed as minimum age as the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage is yet to conclude its negotiations.

Onyejeocha said it is regrettable that the new national minimum wage is not ready before today, but adds that a final amount will be agreed on soon.

Recently, the Federal Government announced a 35 percent pay rise (not minimum wage) for workers, but Labour has rejected it, demanding N615,000 as the new minimum wage for workers to cope with current economic realities.

The labour unions said the current minimum wage of N30,000 can no longer cater for the wellbeing of an average Nigerian worker, lamenting that not all governors are paying the current wage award which expired in April, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari.