36 State Governors Reveal Position On New Minimum Wage, Give Conditions

The 36 state governors of the federation have stated their position on the issues surrounding the new minimum wage and things that must be considered before a new figure is agreed.

Naija News reports the issue of the new minimum wage was one of the points considered by the Governors during a meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) held on Wednesday.

A communique released on Thursday by the chairman of the forum and Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, disclosed that the governors reviewed the ongoing process regarding determining a new minimum wage for workers in the country.

The Governors urged the members of the new minimum wage committee to consider the current realities, individual state peculiarities, and consequential impact on the capacity of the government as well as private sector employers before agreeing on a specific figure.

They also recommended that the final figure must be data-driven and evidence-based.

“Members reviewed the progress of the National Minimum Wage Committee (NMWC) and ongoing multi-stakeholder engagements towards agreeing on a fair minimum wage.

“Members urged the NMWC to consider the current realities, individual state peculiarities, and consequential impact on the capacity of the government as well as private sector employers to pay.

“Members also emphasized the need for proposals to be data-driven and evidence-based,” the communique read in part.

On the issue of state policing, the Governors during their meeting, supported the idea of creating state police, saying it is capable of correcting existing fundamental flaws in the nation’s security framework.

They called for the issue of state policing to form a central point in the ongoing process of amending the Constitution of Nigeria.

The communique said the governors “highlighted the need for state policing as a critical amendment in the ongoing 1999 constitutional amendment proceedings to correct a fundamental flaw in the national security architecture.”

Killing Of Military Personnel In Delta

The Governors commiserated with their colleague and Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, over the communal clash which resulted in the killing of 16 military personnel.

“The forum commiserated with the Governor of Delta State, H.E Sheriff Oborevwori, over the communal clash between Okuama in the Ughelli South Local Government Area and Okolaba in the Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta state, and which led to the death of many including sixteen (16) military personnel.

“While condemning the heinous act, members observed a minute of silence for the souls of the departed.”

Other Issues

The communique added: “Members discussed the growing concern raised by the United States embassy over illegal and fraudulent intercountry adoption of Nigerian children by US citizens including systemic fraud and corruption, child-buying, the imprisonment of pregnant women, and unreliable or non-existent documentation.

“Members pledged to engage the relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government in a bid to address the situation.

“The Forum discussed the progress made by states in implementing various business enabling reforms including those aimed at improving land administration, Public Private Partnership (PPP), investment promotion frameworks, business-enabling infrastructure and regulatory environment under the World Bank supported State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Program for result.

“Members were implored to leverage available support within the program in implementing related reforms to stimulate further economic growth.

“The forum received an update from the NGF Senior Health Advisor, Dr. Ahmad Abdulwahab on the Health Sector Renewal Compact, the next round of the Primary Health Care (PHC) Leadership Challenge and the UNICEF Child Nutrition Fund. Members restated their commitment to deliver on requisite actions and reforms to achieve the objectives of the various initiatives.”