The Federal Government reiterated that President Bola Tinubu’s administration cannot commit to an “impossible” wage that exceeds its financial capacity.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, emphasized this during an interview on Channels Television. Pate affirmed the government’s dedication to enhancing the welfare and salaries of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers across Nigeria.
“We appreciate them,” Pate said. “There are few who chose to go abroad for training. We’ve approved for some of them to go to other places to be trained. We expect that when they train, they will come back home. We are expanding the training of those who are around and improving the working conditions.”
“In the context of the wage review that is ongoing in the country, of course with the Salary Incomes and Wages Commission, we have made submissions to have some adjustment of the remuneration of the health workforce.”
“At the end of the day, it’s what the economy can afford. You cannot give what you don’t have, and so we have to be very deliberate not to promise things that are impossible to fulfill.”
“Many of the legacy issues are 10 years; promises that had been made and could not be achieved. So it’s pointless to keep making promises and setting yourself up when you cannot fulfill them.”
“One thing for sure: this President is committed to the welfare of the Nigerian workforce and in our case in health the sector, he is the champion for Health Resource in the African Union, and that says a lot about where his mind is in terms of the health workforce.”
The minister’s statements followed the Federal Executive Council (FEC) decision to defer a memo on minimum wage review for further consultations. Recently, in his Democracy Day address on June 12, 2024, President Bola Tinubu assured Organised Labour of an impending executive bill for a new national minimum wage, addressing the government and private sector’s proposal of ₦62,000 and Labour’s demand of ₦250,000.