NEC silent on minimum wage

• FG approves $1b agric consortium initiative

• Demands measures to end crude oil theft

By Egena Sunday Ode

President Bola Tinubu Thusrady attended the 142nd meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) at the presidential villa in Abuja.

Though an unusual move, the President’s presence in the council meeting for the first time may be  predicted on his promise to consult with the 36 state governors and other stakeholders on the minimum wage before announcing the final figure agreeable to the Federal Government.

Vice president Kashim Shettima is the chairman of the council, which was expected to deliberate on the issues of the new national minimum wage at Thursday’s meeting.

President Tinubu had said he would only submit a new national minimum wage to the national assembly for passage into law after such consultations.

Curiously, however, the council, at the end of the meeting, was silent on whether or not it considered the minimum wage issue in its deliberation.

Briefing newsmen on the resolutions taken at the meeting, Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, who joined the governors of Imo, Kano and Kogi to brief news men, disclosed that the federal government has approved a $1 billion agriculture mechanization programme that will set up 1000 agro-sector service providers across the country with tractors.

The Minister said: “We’ll have a minimum of 2000 tractors a year for the next five years and all other aggregation of agricultural commodities is going to be utilized at least nothing less than 600,000 youths to man these 1000 service centers.”

Noting that the elaborate plan will be rolled out as soon as it is feasible, he said the project was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last Monday, hinting of an arrangement with John Deere and Tata to provide 2000 tractors before the end of the year.

The Greener Imperative Project, which he said is still in the works, is a 950 million euro project that will soon be unveiled.

According to Kyari also,  a deal is being anticipated with Belarus Tractors to supply 2000 tractors per year for the next five years, with 9000 implements and spare parts, among others.

The Agriculture Minister also said that  Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in 200,000 metric tons of red meat every year and 1 million tonnes of soya from Nigeria.

“We have already last week had a meeting with our entrepreneurs and we have come out with a roadmap where we can supply and satisfy that demand.

“We are looking at partnership with foreign governments, not necessarily trying to ask them to come and invest, but asking them what can we produce so that we can sell to you so that we can earn foreign exchange,” he added.

Also soaeking, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State said that the NEC directed the sub committee of crude oil theft to provide comprehensive recommendations to end the menace during the next meeting.

He said even though the sub committee was expected to submit its report during Thursday’s meeting, “it was inconclusive.”

In his remarks, Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano announced  the constitution of the board of the Niger Delta Power Holding, which he said had operated for a long time without a supervising board.

He revealed that it is made up of governors of Borno, Katsina, Imo, Ekiti, Kwara, and Akwa Ibom states representing the different geo-political zones.

The Minister of  Finance and coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, spoke of the activation of the Presidential food systems coordinating unit chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.