Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, had said the organised labour had proposed N615,000 as the new minimum wage to the federal government.

In an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, Ajaero said the proposed minimum wage was based on an analysis of the current economic situation and the needs of an average Nigerian family of six.

However, in a chat with The Punch, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the Federal Government cannot pay the proposed minimum wage demanded by the labour unions.

The presidential aide added that the parties must agree on an amount feasible for the government and the private sector to pay or the current negotiation impasse would continue.

He said, “It is an open affair. The NLC President, Ajaero, told the public today they were asking for N615,000 per month as minimum wage. So, where will the money come from? Do we have that kind of money to pay? The government cannot afford any minimum wage that it cannot pay.

“So, the President is hoping that maybe at their next meeting, everybody will come to some reasonable agreement that would reflect what the government and the private sector can pay.”