Nigerian governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors Forum(NGF) have rejected the proposed N60,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers even when the workers stood against that figure, asking for N494,000 instead.
In a statement on Friday by the Director of Media and Public Affairs for NGF, Halimah Ahmed, the governors said the proposed minimum wage would not fly, describing it as too high and could turned out to be counterproductive to the nation and workers at the end.
The governors said the amount if implemented would leave them spending all of FAAC funds on salaries, throw many states into borrowing to continue payment of the salaries with less or nothing for infrastructure and development projects.
The statement read in part, “The Nigeria Governors’ Forum 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.”
The NGF urged all parties involved in the negotiation process, particularly the labour unions, to take into account all socioeconomic factors and reach a sustainable agreement.
It stated, “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 organised labour had vowed to reject any minimal increase to the N60,000 offer proposed by the tripartite committee on the new minimum wage.
