Nigerian governors will eventually reduce the federal
minimum wage of N18,000 or downsize because of
the current economic crunch, the chairman of the
body of governors has said.
The chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum and
Zamfara state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, said on
Thursday that irrespective of public condemnations
of the plan, it would not be economically feasible to
retain the same workforce and pay same amount of
money.
Governors: We can’t pay N18, 000 minimum wage
According to him, funds allocated from the
Federation Account could no longer sustain the
expenses of the state as the internally generated
revenue was still below par in some states.
Governors had two weeks ago declared that they
could no longer cope with the N18, 000 minimum
wage. The pronouncement caused a stir as
Nigerians kicked against it.
The governors of Rivers and Edo rejected the plan.
Emerging from a meeting with President
Muhammadu Buhari at the State House Abuja, on
Thursday, Mr. Yari said the governors were
considering the nation’s economic situation.
“Let me make it very clear to Nigerians, governor’s
forum is not the enemy of labour in any way.
Rather, we have been working together. But what we
are saying, (because not only Gov. Wike but also
my friend in the comradeship, Adams Oshiomhole,
kicked against the decision)…
“What we said is that when the National Assembly
enacted the law of paying N18, 000 minimum
wage, then the oil was about $118 per barrel and
today where we are oil is $41 per barrel.
“So, if it continues like that definitely we will find it
difficult to continue. We have to sit down with the
labour and see how we can review; either continue
or downsizing, or see what we are going to do.
“We want to find a solution because we have to be
realistic that we have so many things to touch.
There is infrastructure deficit, there is need for
security, there are other things like social lives of
our people and nation as a state,” he said.
The governor said from the federation account,
some states received N400 million, N500 million
while others received N55 million.
“And there are other issues, not even the salary,
their pension is over a billion. So, how can we
continue borrowing and servicing the service aspect
of our expenditure, or overhead. How can we do
that?
“We are telling the public that we are planning to sit
down with the president and his team and the state
governors as a team and the experts to come out
with the way forward and how we are going to
handle the poor state of the economy in the
country.
“But what we have on ground now will not be
realistic if it continues the way it is without having
other sources from the economy and still relying on
oil that is being sold for $118 dollar per barrel and
now down to $41 and think that we can continue
behaving or misbehaving the way we are doing, if
there is anything like that,” he added.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/12/why-we-must-cut-n18-000-minimum-wage-or-sack-workers-govs/

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