Wage’s consequential increments at states’ discretion, governors insist

Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Fayemi Kayode (left); Deputy Chairman, Aminu Tambuwal; and Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, during the body’s meeting on the new minimum wage and other issues in Abuja…yesterday. PHOTO: LUCY LADIDI ATEKO

The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) yesterday said it had reviewed current progress in the implementation of the new minimum wage law and resolved that consequential increments will depend on the capacity of individual state government.

Chairman of the forum and Governor of Ekiti State, who stated this in Abuja after the body’s sixth meeting, asserted that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) does not determine what happens in the states.

His words: “As you are aware, FEC does not determine what happens in the state because it has own executive council (SEC) which is the highest decision-making body at the state level.

“I have made the position of the states clear that what was agreed on was a national minimum wage increase and not a general minimum wage review, which is a matter for the states to sort out with their workers.”

He said the forum, as the representative body of the states, keenly followed what transpired in the negotiations leading to the N30,000 minimum wage template, adding: “As far as we are concerned, the best that we can do is to stick to what has been agreed – that is the N30,000 minimum wage.”

Fayemi went on: “But states also know that there will be consequential adjustments, but that will be determined by what happens on a state by state basis because there are a different number of workers, different issues, trade unions and joint negotiating committees which will undertake these discussions with the state governments. This is simply what we have said.”

The governors commended the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for their swift responses to the August 2019 yellow fever outbreak in the country, pledging to commit counterpart resources to strengthen mass vaccination campaigns in the states.

Besides, the chief executives have reviewed deductions being made from states’ accounts following the N614 billion loans given to them by the Federal Government.

A source disclosed that the governors, who were willing to pay up, are, however, contemplating adjustment of timelines to cover between 10 and 15 years.

The states recently commenced the repayment of the money as demanded by the government.

According to the governors, the deductions were too much, thus the need for extension of a repayment period at a less stringent rate.

In a related development, the Kano State Government is to shop for N10 billion monthly to pay workers the new wage.

The Head of Civil Service, Dr. Kabiru Shehu, who dropped the hint yesterday in the city, stated that the state would need fresh N500 million to boost its N9.6 billion wage bill to pay its 180,000 workforces N30,600 monthly on account of the consequential adjustments.