FG committed to full implementation of minimum wage — Akume

The Federal Government has restated its commitment to the full implementation of the new N70,000 minimum wage, assuring that no form of partial implementation will be tolerated.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, made this statement on Monday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

Akume, commenting on the compliance level among sub-nationals, commended state governors who have already commenced implementation of the policy, stressing that the new national minimum wage remains a key focus of the Tinubu administration.

He said, “The issue of the new minimum wage has always been central to the thinking of the government of President Bola Tinubu, and that was why he quickly assembled.

“They put in place a tripartite arrangement to look at all the issues, and this was properly carried out. The governors were represented. The Federal Government was represented. The organised private sector was also part of it. So, we arrived at the new minimum wage.”

Akume expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance, noting that some state governments have implemented the policy and others have even exceeded the N70,000 benchmark.

He said, “We are very satisfied with it. And some state governments have started implementing, others have even gone beyond 70. So I believe that there’s no problem with that whatsoever.”

He appealed to governors who are yet to implement the minimum wage to announce it and begin payments.

“We applaud those who have started. Those who have not started, we just want to appeal to them to start the payment. In terms of full implementation, quite frankly, the Federal Government is totally committed. There’s no half measure about this at all. It’s full,” the SGF added.

Akume also said that his visit to the Presidential Villa was to discuss matters of state with the President.