The 36 states Governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) have stated that the N60,000 minimum wage for workers is not sustainable.
Gatekeepers News reports that the governors made the statement through a statement released on Friday by the director of media and public affairs for NGF, Halimah Salihu Ahmed.
The statement was titled “The forum’s stand on the N60,000 minimum wage not sustainable: NGF”.
Stating that the proposed minimum wage of N60,000 proposed by the federal government “cannot fly”, the governors said if they accept it, a few states would end up borrowing to pay workers monthly.
The governors added that if they sustained the proposed N60,000 minimum wage, many states would have to spend all their Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for the state’s development purposes
The statement goes, “The Nigeria Governors’ Forum NGF, is in agreement 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 cannot fly. It will simply mean that many states will spend all their FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes. In fact, 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 legitimate claim to public resources.”
