Governors of the 36 states of the federation have asserted that the N60,000 minimum wage earlier proposed by the Federal Government is unsustainable and cannot fly.
It would be recalled that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) embarked on indefinite strike action on Monday after rejecting the federal government’s N60 000 minimum wage offer. However, organised labour on Tuesday relaxed the strike action for one week to allow room for further negotiations with the federal government, which had promised to increase the wage from N60,000.
The 36 state Governors, in a statement on Friday through the Director of Media and Public Affairs of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Hajiya Halimah Salihu Ahmed, said the N60,000 minimum wage is not realistic and unsustainable.
The Governors argued that implementing the N60,000 minimum wage would force some states to borrow to pay workers’ salaries.
The statement reads, “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.
