He said the committee on minimum wage will deliver a solution that works for all relevant stakeholders.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has promised that President Muhammadu Buhari's 30-member tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee will deliver a new national minimum wage before the end of 2018.
The minister disclosed this while speaking to journalists at Ifitedunu, Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State on Sunday, January 7, 2018.
He revealed that the committee has already commenced its deliberations on the issue and will deliver a solution that works for all relevant stakeholders.
He said, "We had our inaugural meeting on December 14 and we did a framework for our work. We will finish our job before the third quarter of this year, but we may finish earlier.
"Minimum wage is a national matter and only the Federal Government can legislate on it. Labour matters and the issue of national minimum wage are in the exclusive list.
"President Buhari is monitoring it strictly, and I am monitoring it too. I wear a double cap as minister of labour, who is the regulator and also as the deputy chairman of the committee.
"We have state governors; one from each geopolitical zone, five ministers and the Head of Service in the committee. States will key into the new minimum wage when we are done because they are part of it.
"We will fix a minimum wage, but states can pay more than that. I give you an example, today minimum wage is N18,500, but Adams Oshiomhole was paying N25,000 before he left office.
"Minimum wage is just to set the baseline, but states can pay more."
30-member committee
President Buhari inaugurated the 30-member tripartite committee responsible for the negotiation of a new national minimum wage on November 27, 2017.
The committee was inaugurated by the president in the presence of governors and senior government officials at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
While addressing the committee, the president advised them to come up with recommendations that'll be for the benefit of all.
The committee is made up of government officials and individuals from the private sector including the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME).
The committee is chaired by former Head of Service and Minister of Housing, Ms Ama Pepple, with Ngige serving as deputy chairman, and the chairman of National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Richard Egbule, as the secretary.
Members of the committee include: current Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita; Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma; and the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Roy Ugo.
Others are: president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, with his team: Peters Adeyemi, Kiri Mohammed, Amechi Asugwuni and Peter Ozo-Eson; president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Bobboi Kaigama, with his team: Sunday Salako and Alade Lawa; and the president of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Igwe Achese.
Also serving as members are Director General, Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association (NECA), Olusegun Oshinowo with Timothy Olawale and Chuma Nwankwo; chairman, Kaduna East Branch, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ahmed Gobir with Francis Oluwagbenro; the Director General, Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI), Olubunmi Adekoje; president, Kano Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Muheeba Dankaka; and president, Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Degun Agboade.
The Director General of the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF), Asishana Okauru, will serve as an observer with select governors from the All Progressives' Congress (APC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) completing the members' list.
The governors who are members of the committee are: Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha; Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola; Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu; Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong; Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike; and Gombe State governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo.
The president instructed the committee to complete its deliberations and submit its report and recommendations as soon as possible to enable other requisite machinery to be set in motion for implementation of a new National Minimum Wage.