A new national minimum wage will not materialize by the end of September as envisaged, Nigerian Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has said.
The September date was just a date to conclude negotiation on minimum wage, Ngige said while speaking with journalists in Abuja.
Outlining the work ahead Ngige said the committee on the new National Minimum wage is expected to conclude its work by the end of September and present its report to the government for deliberation and approval.
He also said it would be tabled the National Council of State before an executive bill is sent to the national Assembly on the issue.
The Minister pointed out that the capacity to pay by employers was also paramount in the deliberations on the minimum wage.
He said it was for this reason that the committee embarked on zonal public hearing across the country in order to get the input of all those concerned including state governments and the organised private sector.
It was in the course of the zonal public hearings that many state governments made different submissions ranging from N22, 000 to N58, 000 monthly from the current monthly wage of N18,000.
The governors, he said, were also of the belief that for the new minimum wage to become effective, the current revenue allocation formula will have to be reviewed in favour of the states and local government.