The Federal Government on Wednesday said after consultations it proposed N24,000 as the new minimum wage for civil servants.

The Minister of Labour and employment, Chris Ngige, said while addressing State House correspondents after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Ngige was responding to media reports quoting the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, saying that the tri-partite committee discussing the demand for new minimum wage had agreed to increase it from the current N19,200 to N30,000.

“The information is not true,” Ngige said.

He said when the committee reconvened on October 5, after the NLC had called off its nationwide strike, the organised labour came down to N30,000, while the organised private sector came down to N25,000.

He also said the federal government had to consult with the 36 state governors. After the consultations, he said, the federal government proposed N24,000 while governors proposed N20,000.

Ngige said the government was, therefore, still consulting and negotiations were ongoing.

He said in accordance with Convention 131 of International Labour Organisation, the most important thing to consider in fixing the new minimum wage was the ability to pay.

The NLC had initially proposed a N50,000 minimum wage for workers, a move opposed by many state governors, many of whom are unable to regularly pay the current N18,000 minimum wage.