Benue govt. says negotiations on N30,000 minimum wage still ongoing

The Benue Government on Friday said that negotiations on the N30,000 new minimum wage for workers in the state had not been concluded.

Prof. Anthony Ijohor, Secretary of the State Government, made the clarification in a statement issued to our reporter in Makurdi.

He was reacting to reports that a member of the New Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee had claimed, in a social media post, that the negotiations had been concluded.

According to him, the Benue government and labour unions are still negotiating on the issue.

“It is necessary to state that negotiations between Benue government and labour unions on implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage have not been concluded.

“The member of the State Government Committee on the New Minimum Wage, who posted on social media that the negotiations have been concluded and approval given, did so in haste and error, and has since been told to retract the report.

“We wonder why the committee member rushed to the media with the report when we and labour leaders are still meeting to agree on the new minimum wage for workers of the state.

“Our administration has presented its proposal and labour leaders have given assurance that they will study the proposal and get back to government,” he said.

The statement further called for patience on the new minimum wage, stating that all grey areas would soon be ironed out in the best interest of the state.