The Federal Government says many states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will comply with the new national minimum wage by January 2025.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, stated this at the ministry’s headquarters, Abuja, when he received a delegation of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCN), on Thursday.
He specifically appealed for patience from the workers, saying his ministry was yet to know the states that have complied and those yet to.
According to him, based on information provided by the workers, four or five states were yet to comply with the new minimum wage while some have complied with it to some level.
The Minister said: “The FCT said it will comply with the new minimum wage in January. But your FCT chapter is saying that they want it done right now. I am not sure whether that is fair.
“Many states are going to do it in January. So, I don’t know why your FCT chapter is not accepting the same January. So, since you have raised this issue, we are going to look at the matter once again and see what could be done, particularly about the federal agencies you talked about.
“You have not given us the names. We can be better guided with a list of those who have not complied, to see what we can do.”
He said the ministry had taken note of all the issues in contention, including the one pertaining to the Office of the Accountant General and the issue of Federal Civil Service Commission, which the ACSN had been trying to resolve, and assured that all of them were going to be looked at thoroughly, and resolved amicably.
The Minister thanked the delegation for the visit, assuring the union of his determination to do all that is required to ensure peace, tranquility and stability.
He, however, appealed to the leadership of the union to lead by example and always conduct itself in a peaceful manner by bringing issues to the roundtable for resolution as they arise.