Governors of the 36 states of the federation have accused the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, of trying to hold the nation to ransom by its insistence on the N30, 000 minimum wage.
The governors in a statement issued on Monday by the Head, Media and Public Affairs, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, secretariat, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo also described as mischievous statements credited to the NLC, that they were unwilling to pay the new national minimum wage as demanded it.
They also accused the NLC of being unpatriotic in their actions and comments regarding the minimum wage adding that it was “a deliberate attempt to hold the nation, especially the president, to ransom, this being an election year.”
Bello-Barkindo noted that the governors had explained their inability to pay N30,000 was due to lack of funds emphasising that N22,500 offered was a “baseline threshold,” meaning that any governor who can pay more than N22.500 is therefore free to go ahead and do so.
According to him, the governors had also been transparent and open with labour in respect of their financial standing to point of opening their books to labour when didn’t have to do so, adding; “To therefore insist that states must oblige the NLC its demands, regardless of the economic gloom that stares the nation in the face is most unpatriotic and a deliberate attempt to hold the nation, especially the president, to ransom, this being an election year.”
He said further: “Governors have collectively made it abundantly clear that they would have been happy to pay workers the N30, 000, but times are hard and because of financial constraints and other limitations, many states cannot afford it for now.
“The NGF had offered workers a token increment to the sum of N22, 500 from the current N18, 000 after the submission of the report of the Tripartite Committee set up by the president and headed by a retired Head of Service, Ms. Amal Pepple, on October 6.
“The N22, 500 was arrived at, after extensive deliberations among all 36 governors, outlining their financial capacities and liquidity, considering the economic situation of the country and the states’ other obligations to the majority of the people of their various domains.
“Governors also emphasised that N22, 500 is a “baseline threshold,” meaning that any governor who can pay more than N22, 500 is therefore free to go ahead and do so.
“Let it be known that governors have met the President twice on this matter and presented their books to buttress their point. First, a batch of state governors, led by the NGF Chairman, Governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar of Zamfara State, in company of Govs Ambode of Lagos, Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Bagudu of Kebbi, attended a closed-door meeting with the President where the financial standing of six states, one each from all the geo-political regions in the country, were shown to the president, after which, Mr. President requested all the states to forward their books, their revenues, both internally-generated and their earnings from the Federation Account along with their other sources of revenue, for examination. The president appears satisfied with the governors’ position, thus the decision to set up a new committee.”
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He said that President Buhari had at his last meeting with governors on December 15, 2018 admonished them (governors) to expect harsher economic tides in the New Year which further lent credence to the governors’ fears that even those states that had hitherto looked comfortable financially, might not be in the course of the New Year.
Bello-Barkindo disclosed that already, the revenue to states had drastically dropped while demands by competing needs kept rising.
“To therefore insist that states must oblige the NLC its demands, regardless of the economic gloom that stares the nation in the face is most unpatriotic and a deliberate attempt to hold the nation, especially the president, to ransom, this being an election year.
“At this point, it is important to remind the NLC that most governors exhibited a high sense of responsibility and concern for the plight of workers by ensuring that most of them were paid their December salaries ahead of time. Some even received several months’ salary arrears that were owed them, and they are happy with their governors.
“This is not the time for the NLC to destroy the existing conviviality that is already building-up between workers and their governors, especially in those states of the federation where governors are stepping up to the plate with the right decisions,” he said.
