Nigerian state governors, who are recipients of billions of naira in unaccounted monthly security votes remittance from the federal government, have rejected the N60,000 minimum wage proposal, saying the amount is “unattainable” for them, thus “cannot fly”.

“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,” a statement issued on Friday by the director of media and public affairs for NGF Halimah Ahmed said.

“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 FG and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have been at loggerheads over the implementation of a new minimum wage for workers that will reflect the current economic realities. Organised labour later embarked on a short strike after both parties failed to reach an agreement.  

However, the NLC, on Tuesday, called off the strike for five days after the Nigerian government and labour unions signed an agreement which included the FG’s commitment to a minimum wage of more than N60,000 within the time frame.

With less than 24 hours before the agreement elapses and as FG prepares for an increased proposal to NLC, Nigerian governors, under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), have rejected the initial N60,000 proposal, tagging the amount too high for them to pay.

“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.”