TheCable

Ayuba Wabba, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), says the federal government’s advisory committee does not affect the interest of workers.

Wabba said this in an interview with NAN in Abuja on Thursday.

President Muhamamdu Buhari on Wednesday inaugurated a technical advisory committee on the implementation of the new minimum wage.

Wabba said the union “initially” thought the committee was set up to renegotiate the minimum wage but discovered that it was not for that purpose.

“The minister of labour and employment, Senator Chris Ngige had told us that the committee is an internal process of the federal government,” Wabba said.

“I think it is their own way of facilitating and mobilising their own resources for the implementation and also making sure that nothing is left undone and we do not have any problem with that.

“So, it is normal, I think, because initially we were thinking it is a committee that will renegotiate the new national minimum wage, but they said no, it is an internal process of government.

“So, it is not our problem, but essentially their own and it does not in any way affect our interest, government has the right to set up any committee and we are not even members of that committee.”

Wabba said the advisory committee would not in any way affect the timeline of January 23 agreement reached between the organised labour and the FG on the transmission of minimum wage bill to the national assembly.