All the governors in the entire states of Nigeria that make up Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF have kicked against the N60,000 minimum wage proposal on grounds that it cannot be sustained.
They maintained that some states may have to borrow to pay worker’s salary at the end of every month if the Federal Government’s proposed N60,000 minimum wage is accepted as many states would spend all their Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC on salaries alone and will have nothing left for development purposes.
The governors expressed their disposition on Friday through the NGF acting Director on Media and Public Affairs, Hajiya Halimah Ahmed in a statement titled “The forum’s stand on the N60,000 minimum wage not sustainable: NGF”.
The statement reads thus, “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.
‘Not sustainable’
“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 socio-economic 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.”
