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The implementation of the report submitted by a joint
government-labour committee on national minimum wage yesterday received
a setback after the National Economic Council rejected it on grounds of
technical irregularities.

The governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomole told
reporters at the end of the NEC meeting yesterday in Abuja that though
the council received the report and was sympathetic, it noticed some
technical and practical issues which still to be addressed.

Following this, a sub-committee was set up to look
into those technicalities and report back to the council in two weeks.
The sub-committee consist of the governors of Edo st, Lagos, Enugu
Benue, ans Jigawa states, with vice president Namadi Sambo chairing it.

A joint government-labour committee on national
minimum wage had, in July, submitted a report proposing N18, 000 as the
new national minimum wage. But this is still awaiting implementation by
the federal government.

Last week, the Nigeria Labour Congress declared that
it will embark on a three-day nationwide warning strike from November
10 to highlight the workers’ demand for a new national minimum wage.

When asked what those technical issues were, Mr. Oshiomole said they could not be discussed with the press.

“When I was at the NLC, I always argued the case that
it is disrespectful to inform your principals through the media. Those
technical issues will be raised with the NLC and not through third
party like the media,” he said.

The governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, who
also briefed pressmen alongside the governors of Jigawa, Sule Lamido;
Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako and Benue State, Gabriel Suswam said
governors have set up a committee to streamline the workings of the
proposed Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund (NSWF) and approval of the
initial take off fund of N1 billion to be raised from the excess crude
account.