By Abiola Olawale
The Governors of the 36 states of the Nigerian federation have declined the proposal of a N60,000 minimum wage put forward by the Federal Government.
The governors expressed concerns regarding the sustainability of N60,000 minimum wage, citing potential negative impacts on the country’s overall development.
The Director of Media and Public Affairs of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Hajiya Halimah Salihu Ahmed, made this disclosure in a statement issued on Friday.
The governors stated that the implementation of a N60,000 minimum wage would significantly curtail the ability of state governments to allocate funds towards infrastructural development, as the majority of their budget would be directed towards meeting the increased salary obligations of their workforce.
The statement reads in part, “The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) agrees that a new minimum wage is due. The Forum also sympathises with labour unions in their push for higher wages.
“However, the Forum urges all parties to consider the fact that the minimum wage negotiations also involve consequential adjustments across all cadres, including pensioners.
“The NGF cautions parties in this important discussion to look beyond just signing a document for the sake of it; any agreement to be signed should be sustainable and realistic.
“All things considered, the NGF holds that the N60,000 minimum wage proposal is not sustainable and can not fly. It will simply mean that many states will spend all their FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes.
“A few states will end up borrowing to pay workers every month. We do not think this will be in the collective interest of the country, including workers.
“We appeal that all parties involved, especially the labour unions, consider all the socioeconomic variables and settle for an agreement that is sustainable, durable, and fair to all other segments of the society who have a legitimate claim to public resources.”
The New Diplomat reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had on Monday embarked on indefinite strike action.
However, the unions relaxed their strike after the Federal government agreed to pay an amount higher than N60,000 offered as minimum wage.
