By Seyi Babalola
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) announced on Saturday that state governors are wealthy enough to pay the new national minimum wage.
The NLC stated that the funding from the Federation Account funding Committee (FAAC) to states is sufficient to cover the increased minimum wage.
Benson Upah, Head of NLC Public Affairs, declared this in response to state governors’ remarks that they are unable to pay the proposed N60,000 minimum wage by the federal government.
The Nigeria Governors Forum’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Halimah Ahmed, stated on Friday that the proposed minimum wage is too expensive and unsustainable.
However, Upah accused state governors of operating in bad faith.
His statement reads partly: “We do believe the governors have acted in bad faith. It is unheard of for such a statement to be issued to the world in the middle of an ongoing negotiation. It is certainly in bad taste.
“As for the veracity of their claim, nothing can be further from the truth as FAAC allocations have since moved from N700 billion to N1.2 trillion making the governments extremely rich at the expense of the people.
“All that the governors need to do to be able to pay a reasonable national minimum wage (not even the N60,000) is cut down on the high cost of governance, minimise corruption as well as prioritise the welfare of workers.”
