TheCable

Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, says National Youth Service Corps members will receive the new minimum wage as allowance.

Speaking on Thursday while intimating the press on the activities of her ministry, Ahmed said the federal government is working out the modalities of the new minimum wage.

“Apart from the increase of the minimum wage from N18,000 to N30,000, there is also a consequential adjustment that we have to negotiate with the labour unions,” she said.

“The total implication of that would be worked out only after the negotiations and that would involve determining how much increase every other employee above the minimum wage would get.

“It could be a flat amount or a proportion, but the other aspect that is clear is that there would be an increase for the National Youth Service Corps as well because, by the Act, they should earn at least the minimum wage and the NYSC also has to increase to that N30, 000.

“So, because we have not done the negotiation with labour, I cannot give you the details of what we are projecting because it is simply on projections.”

The minister of finance also announced that a sum of N649.43bn would be distributed to state governments as the final refund for the Paris Club debt.