By Kazeem Akintunde
Nigerian Governors could be described as a special breed. Special in the sense that they listen and follow whatever comes to their heads without thinking it through. Just last June, when the federal government was negotiating a new minimum wage with labour leaders in the country, they came out with a statement that the N60,000 then proposed by the federal government’s negotiation team was dead on arrival as they won’t be able to pay such amount of money to their workers at the state level.
The Governors, through their body, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), in a statement signed by the acting Director on Media and Public Affairs, Hajiya Halimah Salihu Ahmed, told the world that the N60,000 figure proposed by the federal government was not sustainable and therefore, cannot fly.
Let me quote the Governors: “All things considered, the NGF holds that the N60,000 minimum wage proposal is not sustainable and cannot 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.”, the governors retorted.
At the beginning of the wage negotiation, labour leaders had asked for a living wage of N615,000 as the new national minimum wage. They came up with the then prevailing socio-economic figures that could sustain an average family of six, comprising father, mother and four children in a month. But as the negotiation progressed, their demand was reduced to N494,000, and later N250,000. The federal government team, as expected, started from a very ridiculous figure of N48,000, which was later increased to N54,000, and then N60,000. It was at this stage that the governors issued their press statement, which forced labour to walk out on the tripartite committee set up by the government to give the nation a new minimum wage.
With appeal from well-meaning Nigerians and the Presidency, labour returned to the negotiating table where a new proposal of N62,000 was put before the workers’ unions. With tension at its peak, President Bola Tinubu magnanimously increased the figure to N70,000 when he held a one-on-one meeting with labour leaders which was eventually accepted by the workers’ unions.
However, Tinubu promised to review workers’ pay every three years instead of five years as stipulated by law as well as promising several incentives to the labour leaders.
With negotiation completed and a new Minimum Wage Act signed into law by President Tinubu, our all-powerful Governors are now even fixing new minimum wage for their states far above the N70,000 fixed by the federal government.
Aren’t these the same set of people who had, in June, came out to reject the N60,000 before it was eventually pushed to N70,000 by the President but are now falling over themselves to pay far above the N70,000 minimum wage?
As at the last count, more than 10 states have announced figures far above the new minimum wage. Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on October 16, 2024, announced a new minimum wage of N85,000 for Lagos State workers, N15,000 above the federal’s minimum. He cited the high cost of living in Lagos as a factor and expressed a goal to raise the minimum wage in the state to N100,000 by January 2025. The reasons adduced for this is not lost on many, as Lagos, being a metropolitan state, has one of the highest cost of living. Again, being the commercial nerve centre of the country, the state generates more internally generated revenue far above several states in the country, so giving back a little to the state workers won’t be a bad idea as it would serve as a way of motivating the workers on its pay roll to do more.
Two days later, Rivers state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, also approved N85,000 as the new minimum wage for the state’s civil servants. Being an oil producing state that enjoys special allocations from the federal government, Rivers state should be in a position to pay the new minimum wage without problem. The 13 per cent derivation it is collecting as an oil-producing state should be more than enough to take care of the excess.
With Lagos and Rivers States taking the front-row seat, other state Governors suddenly do not wish to be left out and the race to be counted among the jones paying above the federal government’s minimum started.
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, soon approved a new minimum wage of N80,000 to public servants in the state. The state is also an oil-producing state and its internally generated revenue figures are not that bad. Governor Eno has also set up an implementation committee to work out modalities for the payment for which a report must be ready within a month.
In Niger State, the state Governor, Muhammed Bago, also announced a new minimum wage of N80,000 for civil servants in the state. His announcement led to wide spread celebrations among public servants, who now praise the Governor to high heavens. Senator Duoye Diri, governor of Bayelsa State also approved a new minimum wage of N80,000 for workers in the state effective November1, 2024. He also approved an increased in the monthly pension of retired workers as well as N7 billion to reduce outstanding gratuity liabilities of the state.
Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State also joined the race by approving a new minimum wage of N77,000 on October 15. The new figure was agreed on after a meeting with labour leaders in state with the secretary to the state government, Tokunbo Talabi leading the state government team. With a monthly internally generated revenue above N120 billion, Ogun State should be comfortable paying the new minimum wage. Infrastructure such as good roads are however in short supply in most parts of the state. The Sango-Ota-Abeokuta Expressway, a federal road, has been long abandoned, although the state government has moved in to change the narrative after several appeals from residents of the state in that axis.
Gombe State Governor, Muhammed Inuwa Yahaya and labour leaders in the state on October 14, also agreed to fix the new minimum wage at N71,451.15. Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on October 12, also announced a new minimum wage of N73,000 for state workers during his campaign kick-off ahead of the November 16 governorship election. Aiyedatiwa, who is seeking for votes from every corner, hopes to use the figure to woo workers to his side. Asides that, Ondo State should be in a position to pay such amount to its workers, with an average internally generated revenue of N32.6 billion monthly, coupled with the fact that the state is an oil-producing state, Aiyedatiwa may have endeared himself to workers in the state by his gesture.
Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, also not to be left out, announced a new minimum wage of N75,000 for civil servants in the state. Chairman of the NLC in the state, Murtala Usman, was full of praise for the Governor for ‘‘his large heart’’. He said that the union proposed three figures for the Governor. ‘’We proposed N72,000. N73,000 and N75,000, and he decided to go for the N75,000, which shows that he is for the workers. To crown it all, he also said that the payment would start this month of October”.
Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, also joined the rat-race, when he announced N72,500 as the new minimum wage for workers in the state. He went a step further by suspending payment of tax by civil servants in the state for one year. With an average of N18 billion monthly as internally generated revenue, it is hoped that the confluence state won’t run into trouble paying the new minimum wage age as the figure is expected to drop once civil servants are exempted from payment of tax for a whole year.
States such as Anambra, Katsina, Ebonyi, and Adamawa states have all agreed to pay the new minimum wage of N70,000 to their workers. Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state said that the payment would commence from October. Dikko Radda of Katsina State has also come out to say that the state would pay the new minimum wage. Ahmadu Fintiri in Adamawa State likewise gave approval for the payment of the new N70,000 minimum wage. Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi state has already commenced the payment of the N70,000 minimum wage since September.
However, states where negotiations are still ongoing include Oyo, Borno, Osun, Jigawa, and, Zamfara State.
If the Governors knew that they could pay far and above N70,000 minimum wage, why issue a press statement in June to the fact that many states won’t be able to pay N60,000 which stalled negotiation for almost a month?
Between June and October, what happened that forced the governors to have a change of heart? It is quite clear that most Nigerians, including public servants, are going through a very difficult phase in their life now with prices of goods and services out of the reach of many. An average household now spends more than 70 per cent of their income on food alone, leaving little or nothing for other needs. Most Nigerians now eat once in a day, as fuel subsidy removal as well as the floating of the Naira has made nonsense of the value and purchasing power of the masses.
Now, Governors are in the good books of labour leaders and public servants in their respective states while federal workers are left to sulk.
The new minimum wage would however, turn out to be a win-win for all if those in the private sector, where the bulk of Nigerian earn their daily bread are also able to pay the new minimum wage to their workers. With the hike in electricity tariff, many of the manufacturing companies in the country coupled with the low purchasing power of the people are finding it hard to survive.
It would be a miracle if many of them do not downsize or out rightly refuse to implement the new national minimum wage for their workers. In a bid to prevent such possibility, the federal government is now considering introducing 50 per cent tax relief for companies that increase salaries or offer transportation allowances to low-income workers in their employ. Already, a bill to that effect is before the National Assembly.
With subsidy gone and oil money flowing into the pockets of state governors through improved federal allocations, the statement issued by the governors in June was in bad faith and it is hoped that states won’t default in the payment of the wages they are now announcing for their workers.
See you next week.
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