Workers may get pay rise next year, says Ngige

 The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has assured  Nigerian workers of a pay rise next year.

Ngige stated this in Awka,  the Anambra  State capital, at an interactive session with journalists on Monday.

He said the various committees handling the minimum wage issue were working to arrive at something

Ngige said the minimum wage under Buhari would not be like any previous pay rise in the country.

The minister said, “Minimum wage is a constitutional issue and is on the exclusive list.

“The Nigerian workers are entitled to a review of their pay under the constitution of the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

“The various committees handling this matter are all working hard to realise the objective. Some are at the final stages of their work. “

He said the kind of minimum wage being fashioned by the Buhari administration would be enforceable by workers in both the private and public sectors.

Ngige said that the new minimum wage would be couched  in such a way that any employer of labour in Nigeria who would pay his worker below the minimum wage would be liable.

“It won’t  be like any other minimum wage in this country. This one will give powers to workers in both the private and public sectors to take their employers to court to enforce their constitutional rights,” the minister stated.

Ngige added that the Federal Government had quality plans for Nigerians next year.

He listed these to include employment, women and youth empowerment.

The minister said the current economic recession in the country would be a thing of the past in nine months time, because of the programmes put in place by the  Federal Government.

Speaking on the perceived marginalisation of the people of the  South-East geopolitical zone by the Buhari administration, Ngige described the suspicion  as a hoax.

He said the Buhari government had captured the construction of most federal roads in the South-East in the 2016 and 2017 budgets.

He said work on the second Niger Bridge would take off in earnest next year.

Ngige said what was holding it was the trouble brought about by some people who, he said, were asking for compensation on their land before work could commence on the project.