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Why I preserved public jobs, exempted taxes for minimum wage earners – Buhari

Published

4 years ago

March 23, 2021

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the commitment of his administration to the welfare of workers in Nigeria is evident in several Federal Government policies..

This, he said, includes the legislation of the minimum wage, tax exemption for minimum wage earners and the preservation of public service jobs in spite of two recessions, among others.

Buhari, who was represented by Vice president, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, made this statement earlier today at the opening session of the 2021 National Labour Advisory Council.

He also commended workers and other social partners for their cooperation and understanding in the resolution of issues in the industry, saying “workers also showed understanding in their demands.”

According to the President, “our government has always been and we remain resolutely committed to the welfare of workers. Indeed, one of our first actions in office was the massive bailout to states, the majority of which were owing workers’ salaries in many cases for between 6 and 12 months.

“As Federal Government, we ensured that despite two recessions in six years, and severely dwindled national resources, no jobs were lost for this reason.

“Indeed, we not only implemented a new national minimum wage but we also last year, put forward legislation that ensured that minimum wage earners would pay no income tax.

“We established the largest Social Investment Programme in Sub-Saharan Africa and we have since expanded many of its component programmes including the Conditional Cash Transfers for the poor from 2.6 million households (13 million persons) to 7.2 million households (about 30 million persons) and COVID-19 Rapid Response for the Urban Poor which now has 4 million households (20 million persons).”