NEWS
Minimum Wage: Adeleke Advocates Federal Revenue Review
The hardship engendered negotiation of new national minimum wage between the government and organised labour has got many speaking.
In this direction, Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke on Thursday called for the review of the Federation Account Revenue (FAR) sharing formula as part of efforts to address the matter.
His position was expressed in Lagos during the South West zonal public hearing on the new national minimum wage, where he also urged that solid minerals be removed from exclusive to concurrent legislative list.
Biztellers reports that Gov Adeleke represents the South West at the National Tripartite Minimum wage committee.
Addressing labour leaders and other delegates at the public hearing, Gov Adeleke pointed out that there was a consensus on the need to increase the minimum wage but noted that a review of the revenue sharing formula and amendment of legislative list are necessary to boost the capacity of the states to pay the new minimum wage.
He said, “In all our meetings and various deliberations, one thing that the committee has been able to establish is that the workers in Nigeria are due for an improved welfare package.
“There is a consensus for an upward review of the National Minimum Wage because the existing one has become unrealistic.
“It has to be reiterated that the majority of the governments at the sub−nationals can hardly sustain an improved wage and salaries for their workers without a significant adjustment in some of the narratives in the national economy.
“In tandem with the public outcry for the review of the sharing formula for the federation account, the time has come for the federal government to revisit the matter.
“There is an urgent need for the review of existing sharing formulas in favor of states and local governments.
“I call on the National Assembly through the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to urgently take decisive action to look at the ratio objectively and realistically.”
In his opinion, Nigeria must remove solid minerals from the exclusive legislative list.
His thinking was premised on the fact that each state in Nigeria has been blessed with one form of natural resources or the other. On the new minimum wage, the Governor posited that “our position from Osun State is that workers deserve improved wages and salaries. Osun state government is in support of a new and realistic minimum wage for all workers within the limit of the available resources in a very sustainable manner.
“While it would be desirable to see that a uniform minimum wage is agreed on a national basis, it would amount to self-deceit to assume that states have equal ability to pay.”
He, however, posited that individual states would have to negotiate with their workers and agree to a realistic and sustainable minimum wage in line with the available resources.
Meanwhile, frontline labour leader and the Director General of Michael Imodu Labour Institute, Comrade Mike Aremu has applauded the pro-labour and pro-worker policies of Gov Adeleke.
The Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun was the Chairman of the zonal public hearing.
NEWS
Adeleke Approves Adeyemi’s Appointment As Chairman, Governing Council, Osun State College of Education
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has approved the appointment of Akinyele Sarafa Adeyemi, as the new Chairman of the Governing Council of the Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun.
This was detailed in a statement in Osogbo on Friday by Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed.
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According to Rasheed, Adeyemi replaces Dr Peter Babalola who resigned his appointment after a controversial tenure at the College of Education.
He stated that “Adeyemi who holds a first and Masters degrees in Education from the University of Ibadan is a retired principal of the Federal Girls College, Ipetumodu.”
It was gathered that the swearing in ceremony for the new Council Chairman holds by 10am on Monday at the EXCO lounge.
The Committee on Consequential Adjustments in Salaries for Civil Servants has confirmed that the newly approved minimum wage will be implemented starting July 29, 2024.
This was disclosed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) issued at the conclusion of the committee’s meeting in Abuja on Friday.
Read Also: NLC Accuses Tinubu Of Sabotaging Minimum Wage With Fuel Hike
The MoU reads, “The National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC) will prepare and release the necessary salary templates for other consolidated salary structures. The implementation date for the new wage will take effect from July 29, 2024.”
The committee, comprising 16 members, was set up to oversee the execution of the National Minimum Wage Act of 2024. This legislation raised the country’s minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.
Among its key responsibilities, the committee is tasked with negotiating salary adjustments across various sectors and developing a template for implementing the newly approved wage structure.
With the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popular in the streets as petrol, hovering around approximately N1000-N1300 per litre, concerns are mounting about the viability of fuel subsidies in Nigeria.
Energy policy analyst, Adeyemi Adeoye, has underscored the critical role of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) in this issue, shedding light on who bears the subsidy costs.
He shared his views on TVC News on Friday.
Biztellers reports that the pump price of petrol has risen from below N200/litre at at May 29, 2023 to around N1300/litre as at September 20, 2024, with little variations depending the part of Nigeria, consumers are buying from.
Read More: Fuel Pricing Should Serve Public Interest, Not Profit — Yemi Adeoye
He stated, “Only the NNPC can engage in negotiations of this nature. Their partnership with the Dangote Refinery gives them leverage to negotiate from a position of strength.”
Adeoye highlighted that while the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and other marketers lack significant influence over prices, the Dangote Refinery prioritizes profitability.
According to him, this makes the NNPC’s negotiations vital, as they are legally required by the Petroleum Industry Act to ensure fuel availability across the country and prevent long queues at gas stations.
Adeoye said, “It is only NNPC that could have gone into that type of negotiation because NNPC is coming to the table from a position of strength because they have a partnership with the Dangote Refinery, and they have other businesses they are supplying crude to, so they can come and say, ‘Look, this has to be this way.’
“The IPMAN and the other marketers cannot do that because Dangote is a profit-making organization; it is not a charity organization. So, the only thing that is important to the Dangote Refinery is to make a profit, which is the same thing that is important to any business.
“So, the NNPC went into these negotiations because it also understands that it is the last resort. In terms of fuel distribution in the country, NNPC is mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act to make sure that there are no queues in the country. So, even if they don’t want to do it, the law mandates NNPC as the supplier, the last resort, to make sure that there is petroleum product across Nigeria.
“That negotiation is such that NNPC took all the calculations in and said, ‘This is a fair pricing that we know we can withstand.’
“Because what NNPC was paying out, which you might call a subsidy or under-recovery, NNPC was paying the difference on behalf of the government, which is under the directive of the president, who has also said he wants to see this situation totally resolved.
“That was why he directed the NNPC to make sure that crude oil to the Dangote Refinery is sold in Naira, because NNPC produces the crude in dollars, and it has to be sold to the Dangote Refinery in Naira, which is good faith.” he added
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