Governors under the auspices of
the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) say they were not voted into power to pay
salaries alone but also to provide good roads, electricity, education and other
necessary amenities.
They said this in response to the
contentious issue of minimum wage implementation.
The governors called for the
examination of the national income in the last 14 years to enable them reach a
middle ground minimum wage.
The chairman of the NGF and
Zamfara state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, said this was part of the discussion
they had at a meeting on Wednesday night.
The committee working on the
minimum wage is concluding negotiations on the matter. The federal government
had set September for rolling out a new minimum wage for workers.
But the governors said they
cannot perform any magic as funds are needed “for these things”.
The governors are insisting on
the staggering of the implementation of the new wage if approved while the
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is proposing a minimum wage of N65,000 for
workers.
Yari said it is regrettable that
states governments have been limited to only paying of salaries while other
sectors such as health, electricity, education, among others, are not given the
same attention as salaries.
“We have a committee of six which
represented us in discussions in the committee headed by labour minister,” he
said.
“The committee is yet to give us
the final report. When they give us the final report, for which they have our
mandate to present our position, and the position most likely is to look at the
record of up to 14 years.
“For instance, in global
practice, in your income, how much are you spending as salary? So that we can
start from there. They have given us interim report, that at the federal
government level, over 82 percent is being spent on overhead which cannot move
the country forward in terms of infrastructure development and development that
we need now.
“So, on our own part, we are
saying we are going to look at how our income are trained from our final
account from 14 years ago so that we can come up and stay in the middle.
“I don’t think you people voted
us for only to pay salaries. You are looking for good roads, electricity,
education and others. So, we can’t do magic. It’s only when we have the funds
do all those things.”
Yari said the governors also
deliberated on the way the anti-graft agencies have been handling the fight
against and resolved that they must adhere strictly on due process.
Speaking on the freezing of Akwa
Ibom and Benue states government accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), Yari told reporters that even President Muhammadu Buhari
will not support the action.
“We believe strongly that the
government of President Muhammadu Buhari will not sit down and supervise this
illegality in the system,” he said.
“What we are saying is that we
all support the government to fight corruption because it is endemic and has
suffered the nation for over six decades. Definitely, it was part of what we
discussed.
“What we are saying now is that
we are going to support the government in terms of what it is doing to fight
corruption, but the due process must be respected in whatever action the
agencies are going to take in the name of fighting corruption.”
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Hear the greedy men talking. You choose to vie for office, and in your electoral campaign you boasted of your ability to deliver. Why lamenting? is there a problem with people earning good wages? (in this case the proposed amount is not even to the level of a living wage)
ReplyDeleteIt is your responsibility to pay salary, provide good roads, free basic health, social services and even food security
You all knew what stakes are involved before seeking office. Please don't come tell us that it is not possible
Governance comes with responsibility. If you are unable to do this, please resign and allow people who have good understanding of governance, and know how to drive the economy to a sustainable state, such that all expectations are met, to come into office and get things going