Minimum wage: Let each state negotiate what it can pay

Governors from the Southern part of Nigeria, under the aegis of the Southern Governors’ Forum, have proposed that each state should be allowed to determine what it can pay as a new minimum wage.

The governors made this proposal in a 16-point communique issued and also advocated that each state be allowed to negotiate the new wage with the labour unions in their state.

“The Forum discussed the minimum wage issues demanded by labour and unanimously agreed that the minimum wage should be reflective of the cost of living and that each state should be allowed to negotiate its minimum wage. This led to the forum’s discussion on fiscal federalism and devolution of powers,” the communique read

This comes hours after a meeting of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, in Abuja on Thursday, June 27, where the state governors promised to remain dedicated to the process of negotiating a new minimum wage and assured that better wages would result from the ongoing negotiations.

At the meeting were governors of Oyo, Zamfara, Anambra, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Imo, Kwara, Ondo, Kaduna, Kebbi, Ebonyi, Sokoto, Ogun States, among others. Deputy governors of Akwa Ibom, Osun, Borno States, and others were also at the meeting.