Governors earning N2m monthly express skepticism over minimum wage increase

Governors of respective states in Nigeria have expressed skepticism over the viability of minimum wage increase by the Federal government.

The NLC initially asked for workers to be paid a minimum of N52,000, but are now negotiating a minimum pay of N24,000 which the FG says it can afford.

The Nigerian Governors Forum says even that may not be viable, as many states are still owing workers several months salaries.

Zamfara State governor and Chairman of the Forum, Abdulaziz Yari, said on Wednesday that the issue was not just to agree to a figure to be paid, but the “ability of resources to take care of that agreed minimum wage.”

He said the governors were, however, not against the increase.

“So, it’s not about only reviewing it but how we are going to get the resources to cater to it,” he said.

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State governors across the country earn over N2 million as basic salary monthly, excluding other benefits and allowances, while Nigerian Senators go home with about N13.5 million monthly as “running cost”.

In a recent report by BudgIT, about half of the states in the country owe workers’ salaries in different capacities.