The Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and Governor of Zamfara, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Yari, told newsmen at the end of an emergency meeting of the governors on Wednesday in Abuja that payment of N30, 000 minimum wage was impracticable, and that only Lagos State had the capacity to pay such amount.
Yari, however, said the proposed wage would be paid if labour would agree to downsizing of the workforce across the country “or Federal Government itself accedes to the review of the national revenue allocation formula”.
The forum constituted a committee to meet the president to work out a formula to quickly resolve the issues.
He listed members of the committee to interface with the Presidency as governors of Lagos, Kebbi, Plateau, Bauchi, Akwa |bom, Ebonyi, Enugu and Kaduna.
Yari said: “Situation where our report was not taken or considered by the tripartite committee in the presentation to the president, then, I don’t know how the committee wants us to work.
“We still said that we want to pay but the issue is the ability to pay. If we say no, just pay, I don’t know how this formula will work and I don’t know how we can get solution to the issue.
“Today it is N18, 000. In 2015 when the president assumed office, 27 states were not able to pay, not that they chose not to pay.
“Now you say N30, 000, how many of us can pay? We will be bankrupt.
“So as Nigerians, we should look at the issues seriously.
“Like Lagos that is paying about N7 billion as salaries now, if you say it should start paying N30, 000 the cost of salary will be N13 billion.
“From our calculation, it is only Lagos state that will be able to pay 30,000.
“As Nigerians, this is our country, there is no other country we have and we should be fair to this country.”
He added that it was the same labour leadership pushing for N30, 000 that would turn around to say that governors did not build any infrastructure “and how are we going to achieve that by paying only salaries.”
On resolution, Yari said that the governors would continue to talk with labour leaders to let them see reasons the governors have difficulties in paying the proposed wage.
“Apart from Lagos, even Rivers cannot pay. So, we have been crying out about this since 2011 but no one will listen.
“One critical example is that some states ration their salaries while some others put everything they earn on the table and ask labour to come and see and ask them to suggest how much should go for capital and personnel cost.
“Some say 70 per cent for personnel cost and 30 per cent for capital projects and yet the states cannot pay and they put the remaining as outstanding,” he said.
