National Conference: Delegates reject minimum wage increase from N18,000 to N40,000.

Delegates at the National Conference on Thursday unanimously rejected an amended recommendation of the Ebele Okeke-led Committee on Public Service for an upward review of minimum wage from N18, 000 to N40,000.


The committee had recommended an upward review of the minimum wage to at least N40,000 but delegates while adopting the report of the committee, during plenary on Thursday in Abuja, insisted that it was unnecessary to review workers’ salaries now.

The committee, however, recommended a complete ban on government Ministries, Departments and Agencies from collecting application fees from job seekers.

The confab also adopted the committee’s recommendation that no political appointee at all levels be employed as Special Advisers, Special Assistants, and Personal Assistants, saying such political office-holders should utilize staff of MDAs where it becomes necessary to save cost of governance.

But the conference adopted a proposal for the setting up of recruitment centres in the states of the federation to look into issues of employment, saying its decision was in view of the Nigerian Immigration Service recruitment exercise where many job seekers died and others injured in a stampede.

It also accepted a motion calling for the change of the Federal Character Commission to what it called the “Federal Character and Equal Opportunities Commission” in both federal and state government levels.

A delegate representing the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Nurudeen Lemu, spearheaded the motion on behalf of 33 other delegates.

Lemu said, “We are recommending that the commission be upgraded to address issues of equity and equal opportunities in order to take care of other key sectors and groups in the society.

“That the law establishing the commission be reviewed to reflect the above proposal and thereby renamed as Federal Character and Equal Opportunities Commission.

“This will enable the commission to affirm the issue of affirmative action for the people living with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

“It will also address issues relating to ethnic, religion, minority, women, youths and other sections of the society that are often excluded,’’ the motion stated.