The Presidency has confirmed that negotiations for a new national minimum wage are currently underway. Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, revealed this during a briefing with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday. Ngelale emphasized the determination of the administration to establish a new minimum wage that all states in the federation can manage.
He stressed that the federal government aims to set the new wage at a sustainable level for the long term, ensuring the stability of the Naira. However, Ngelale cautioned that achieving a new minimum wage would be futile if the country fails to stabilize its currency.
In addition, Ngelale announced the disbursement of over N150 billion from the Bank of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency. He also mentioned the approval of single-digit interest rate loans of up to N2 million for hundreds of thousands of small and medium-scale enterprises across all local government areas in Nigeria.
Ngelale further highlighted the administration’s focus on supporting industries and manufacturing companies by prioritizing an intervention of N75 billion for 75 such companies with a workforce of over 1,000 employees. This support aims to ensure the continued operation and expansion of these businesses, thereby safeguarding jobs and fostering economic growth.
He stated, “We want to ensure that those industries and sectors that are massively employing our people are those industries that are prioritized concerning government intervention, which is why the President has approved over N75 billion to be dispersed to 75 large-scale manufacturers across all states of the Federation. These will be manufacturers who employ over 1000 Nigerians in each of their facilities and industries. We are going to ensure that they have the support that they need on a large scale so that Nigerian families who rely on these large-scale businesses are protected. We want to see our large-scale industries not just refuse to fire people but actively increase and expand their hiring at this difficult time.”