The governors of Nigeria’s 36 states have turned down the Federal Government’s proposal of a N60,000 minimum wage.
Hajiya Halimah Salihu Ahmed, Director of Media and Public Affairs for the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), announced this in a statement on Friday.
Previously, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had initiated an indefinite strike on Monday, rejecting the federal government’s N60,000 minimum wage proposal.
However, the unions later decided to pause the strike for one week to allow for further negotiations, after the federal government indicated a willingness to increase the wage above N60,000.
Despite this, the governors maintain that a N60,000 wage is not realistic and unsustainable, warning that its implementation could force some states to borrow money to pay workers’ salaries.
The statement reads in part, “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 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.
“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.”
