The Nigerian Governors Forum has rejected the proposed minimum wage increase to N60,000 for Nigerian workers.
This decision was conveyed in a statement issued on Friday by Halimah Salihu Ahmed, the NGF’s Director of Media and Public Affairs.
The NGF highlighted that the proposed minimum wage is excessively high and unsustainable for many states. They expressed concerns that adopting the N60,000 minimum wage would result in states dedicating their entire Federal Account Allocation Committee funds to salaries, leaving no resources for essential development projects.
The statement read, “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 appealed to all parties involved in the negotiation process, particularly labor unions, to consider all socioeconomic factors and strive for a sustainable agreement. They emphasized, “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.”
This stance from the NGF comes amid a backdrop of strong reactions from organized labor. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have firmly rejected any increase less than the proposed N60,000. Festus Osifo, President of the TUC, reiterated this position during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today program.
The organized labor groups, including the TUC and NLC, had recently suspended their industrial action after reaching a tentative agreement with the Federal Government. The government assured that President Bola Tinubu is committed to a minimum wage higher than the N60,000 previously offered.
This development followed a presentation by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who outlined the cost implications of a new minimum wage to President Bola Tinubu. Despite these discussions, the NGF maintains that while a new minimum wage is necessary, the proposed N60,000 figure is not financially feasible for most states.
