This was revealed in a press release signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mallam Mohammed Idris on the official state house website.
The meeting was chaired by Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and featured the participation of various ministers and government officials including Governor Abdulrazak Abdulrahman of Kwara State, who also serves as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State while the labor delegation was led by NLC President Joe Ajaero and TUC Deputy President Dr. Tommy Etim Okon, along with general secretaries from both labor unions and other representatives.
During the meeting, the labor unions asked the Federal Government to cushion the effect of subsidy removal on the people by providing an alternative form of relief noting that in many states, fuel price hike has led to increase in transport fares and food prices.
This was Accentuated and it was concluded that N25,000 increment will be added to lowest government workers wages and N35,000 for high level government workers for a period of six months and the Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel will be waived for the next six months.
In addition, the federal government is working on fast tracking the provision of compressed nitrogen gas (CNG) buses to alleviate public transportation challenges resulting from the removal of the PMS subsidy and also pledged to provide funds to support micro and small-scale enterprises.
Another significant announcement made was the initiation of payments to 15 million households, with each receiving N25,000 per month for a three-month period from October to December 2023.
The resolutions reached during the meeting include the acknowledgment that the issues at hand can only be resolved when workers are actively engaged in their duties, rather than through strike actions. Labour Unions also advocated for higher wage awards, with the Federal Government Team agreeing to present these requests to President Bola Tinubu for further consideration.
