The face-off over the size of the National minimum wae is far from being resolved as the Nigerian Governors Forum today rejected the proposed N60,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
In a statement issued on Friday by the Director of Media and Public Affairs for NGF, Halimah Salihu Ahmed, the governors said the proposed minimum wage is too high and not sustainable.
The governors argued that if the N60,000 minimum wage is adopted, many states would have to devote their entire accruals from the Federal Account to salaries, leaving no resources for development projects.
The statement reads: “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.
“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.”
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