Finance Minister, Wale Edun, Speaks After Meeting Tinubu over Minimum Wage

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said that “there is no cause for alarm” following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Edun was accompanied by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu. The development comes two days after Tinubu directed the finance minister to present a proposed new minimum wage figure and analysis of associated costs to him within 48 hours. Although the agenda of Thursday’s meeting was not disclosed, it is believed to be connected to the President’s directive on Tuesday. It can be recalled that the Tripartite Committee on new minimum wage met on Wednesday. The meeting was inconclusive due to the federal government team’s failure to present a new figure, despite proposing N60,000 as the new minimum wage, which was rejected by the organized labour. It is understood that the government team is expected to present a fresh figure at today’s meeting scheduled for 2 pm.

Finance Minister Seeks Staff Support To Drive Reforms

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun has sought the cooperation and support of the staff to enable him deliver on the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. According to a statement signed by Director (Press & PR), Stephen Kilebi on Thursday in Abuja, the minister made the appeal during a town hall meeting with the management and staff of the Ministry in Abuja. The meeting which was held at the instance of the Minister was aimed at exchanging views with the management and staff on how best to deliver on the mandate of the Ministry in the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration. Edun said the essence of the meeting was, “Let me meet my people, feel their pulse and know what to do with them in order to deliver on the mandate given me by Mr. President.” He added, “A tree does not make a forest. Working together, honouring one another and being fair to one another can perform wonders.” He added, “I encourage staff to perform excellently in order to deliver in their callings not only for the Ministry but for the whole country.” The Minister assured of continued staff welfare for better and efficient service delivery. The Minister while appreciating the resilience and professionalism of Nigerian workers urged the staff to join hands with him to deliver on the mandate reposed on him by the President on his Renewed Hope Agenda. He said the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda is a veritable tool for service delivery assuring that “Things are going to change and be better, not only for Nigerians, but will make the Ministry attain global competitiveness,”  Edun added that President Tinubu is a leader, a coach and a strategist and will change the narrative. He said the President is “A man of empathy, who acknowledges the sufferings of Nigerians even when Nigeria is rich in all sectors will definitely change things around for good.” Edun who acknowledged the President’s vision of inclusivity and gender friendly administration said, “I am extremely happy to be in the Ministry. I am privileged to be the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the Chairman Forum of African Ministers of Finance.” He noted that the task was enormous and he couldn’t do it alone without the support of the management team and the staff commitment. He assured that staff welfare would be given top most consideration to ease their suffering, disclosing that plans were on the way for the provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy, stressing that with CNG buses Nigerians would pay less for transportation. Earlier, the Permanent Secretary Finance Okokon Udo, appreciated the minister for his maiden meeting with the staff and pledged the support of the management and staff of the Ministry for his success. He noted that the meeting was a “veritable platform for interaction” adding that its essence was to “rub minds, express feelings, tell ourselves the truth constructively and how to move forward”. Udo said that the Ministry has a conducive working environment for effective and efficient service delivery. The Joint Union Chairman, Comrade Mohammed Attahiru, while officially welcoming the Minister said, the “Minister has broken the jinx by holding the interactive session adding that, the interactive meeting was what the trade union had been yearning for. He mentioned that, based on the Minister’s pedigree which stood him out, the union has no doubt that he will perform creditably and promised him of their total support.

Naira Freefall: FG To Receive $10bn Forex Inflow – Finance Minister

The fortunes of the naira may soon be reversed with the Finance Minister, Wale Edun assuring that about $10 billion naira is expected to flow into the economy in a matter of week Edun made this known during a panel session at the ongoing Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) question and answer session concerning stabilizing the foreign exchange market and enshrining liquidity in the market. Since the unification of the foreign exchange market in June, the naira’s value has slumped by over 100 per cent on the parallel market. The current CBN management has introduced a slew of measures to provide liquidity but the chasm between the rate on the I&E window and parallel market continues to widen. The minister said, “in addition, from the supply of foreign exchange through NNPC, increased production, reduced expenditure, from transactions such as forward sales, from our discussions with sovereign wealth funds, that are ready to invest and provide advanced alongside that investment, there is a line of sight of $10 billion worth of foreign exchange in the relatively near future in weeks rather months.” The Minister further said President Tinubu has signed two executive orders geared towards ensuring liquidity in the forex market. He said, “Mr. President announced that he had taken measures to ease illiquidity in the forex market which we know is very problematic at this time.” “The market is illiquid; it’s not functioning properly because there is no supply and there are various reasons for that. The solution that the President has put on the table is that he has signed an executive order that effectively allows under forbearance all the cash that is in the domestic economy to legally come into the formal money supply” “Along with that, there is another executive order that allows domestic issuance of foreign currency instruments so that they will have the incentive to provide that foreign exchange from whatever source.”

Buhari approved my World Bank appointment, says Zainab Ahmed

Former Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed has said that her appointment as an Alternate Executive Director (AED) representing Nigeria was with the consent of former President Muhammadu Buhari.  Zainab made the disclosure on Monday following inquiries over a newspaper report that alleged she nominated herself for the World Bank position. An online platform had reported that the former minister surreptitiously got the World Bank job without presidential approval.  In a statement by the Media Adviser to the former Finance Minister, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, Zainab explained that there was no way she could have nominated herself for such a position without the President’s approval. She said: “In the first instance, the World Bank is a reputable organization with its rules and processes. “Secondly, anyone working at that level of Alternate Executive Director (AED) must be a representative of his or her country and would have gotten such approval and endorsement from his or her government. It will be recalled that the position became available in October 2022. “Mr. President was notified and approval was gotten in April 2023, but with the understanding that Dr. Zainab Ahmed cannot report until after the end of her tenure as Minister. “Therefore, the former Minister couldn’t have nominated herself and also approved such. I can therefore confirm to you that the former President approved her being the AED at the World Bank representing Nigeria,” he added.