President Bola Tinubu says the federal government would ensure that investments in key sectors of the economy follow clear timelines and are impactful on the lives of citizens.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Ajuri Ngelale, on Friday, said President Tinubu made the promise when he received the management of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) led by the Chairman, Alexey Arnautov, at the State House, said the government was keen on reviving the smelter company in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State.
“It is good to have you at this meeting. Smelter is necessary for the development of the country,’’ the President stated.
President Tinubu emphasised the need for clear vision and detailed plans in the steel and energy sector, adding that “there must be timelines’’.
The reassurance by the president follows an agreement of a ₦70, 000 new minimum wage between the federal government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero; and his counterpart in the TUC, Festus Osifo, had on Wednesday, said the Organised Labour agreed to ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers, because the wage reviews in the country will no longer be every five years but once in three years.
The “agreement” between the two sides followed a series of talks between labour leaders and the President in the last few weeks after months of failed talks between labour organs and a tripartite committee on minimum wage constituted by the President in January.
The committee, which comprised state and federal governments and the Organised Private Sector, had proposed ₦62,000 while labour insisted on ₦250,000 as the new minimum wage for workers who currently earn ₦30,000 as minimum wage.
Labour had said ₦30,000 was unsustainable for any worker going by the economic vagaries of inflation and high cost of living which followed the removal of petrol subsidy by the President.
The information minister confirmed on Thursday that the ₦70,000 “agreed” amount would be communicated with the National Assembly in the coming days.
