The governors of Nigeria’s 36 states have rejected 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), confirmed this in a statement issued on Friday.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had initiated an indefinite strike on Monday after rejecting the federal government’s N60,000 minimum wage offer. However, they announced a one-week suspension of the strike to allow for further negotiations, with the federal government indicating a willingness to increase the proposed wage.
Despite these negotiations, the governors stated that the N60,000 minimum wage is unrealistic and unsustainable. They warned that implementing such a wage would force several states to borrow money to pay workers.
The statement reads in part, “The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) agrees that a new minimum wage is necessary. The Forum also sympathises with trade unions in their efforts to raise salaries.
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.
