A minimum wage bill goes to the National Assembly today, as the National Council of State has approved N30,000 and N27,000 as minimum monthly pay for federal and state workers respectively.

A decision to this effect was reached yesterday at the meeting attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, former Heads of State and Governors.

Labour Minister, Dr Chris Ngige who broke the cheery news said governors have agreed to the payment formula.

Ngige said the council approved N27,000 as the minimum wage in the country, but hinted that the federal was topping the approved amount by N3,000, which translates to N30,000 for its workers.

He said states are at liberty to augment the new agreement “as they deemed fit.”

In a swift reaction, the National Secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the N27,000 new National Minimum Wage adopted by the National Council of State on Tuesday.

Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, the NLC General Secretary, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to him, the council has no jurisdiction determining another amount after a Tripartite Committee has submitted its report.

“It is abysmal of government to be delaying the submission of an Executive Bill to the National Assembly and by wrongfully adopting N27,000 through the Council of States,” he said.

Ozo-Eson however said the NLC has called an emergency National Executive Council meeting for Friday, to weigh on the deadline given to government within which to submit an executive bill to the National Assembly.

The NLC general scribe added that the Federal Government was only projecting a shutdown of the economy with its latest action.

“This is because workers should not be held responsible for any development after its NEC meeting on Friday,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ondo State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has said that it awaits the next directive of the national secretariat on the minimum wage approval by the Council of State.

Chairman, Joint Negotiating Council, JNC, Comrade Opeyemi Oloniyo, while speaking with The Hope on telephone, said the reaction of the national secretariat will determine their next line of action.

He said the difference in the salary is not the best because both federal and state workers patronize the same market and do the same schedule of work.