The National Council of State has on Tusday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, approved N27,000 as the National minimum wage.

President Muhammadu Buhari presided over the Council of State’s meeting which had in attendance Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, as well as former Presidents, Heads of State, and former Chief Justices of Nigeria.

The amount approved by the Council of State is N3,000 less than the N30,000 that the Tripartite Committee on Review of National Minimum Wage recommended.

By this approval, it is expected that a Minimum Wage Bill will be sent to the National Assembly on Wednesday to be passed into law.

According to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, the Federal Government is topping the approved amount of N30,000 by N3,000 for its workers.

However, he said that any state is at liberty to augment the new agreement as it sees fit.

When the bill is passed into law, N27,000 would be the new benchmark that any lowest paid worker (Grade Level 1 Step 1) would be paid.