It's becoming unbearable to pay N18,000 minimum wage -Governors lament cash crunch

THE Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) yesterday lamented that more states may not be able to pay workers’ salaries, if the country’s revenue continues to decline.

Its Chairman and Zamfara State Governor Abdul’aziz Yari said this while briefing reporters on the resolutions of the forum at its meeting in Abuja late on Wednesday.

He said the forum discussed the economy and resolved to look for means to enhance states’ internally generated revenues as well to cut overhead cost.

The forum, Yari said, also resolved to diversify the country’s economy from petroleum to agriculture and mining.

Stressing that it was becoming unbearable for some states to pay the N18,000 minimum wage, he said: “We resolved that we must look at ways to enhance revenue generation and at the same time look at ways to cut our overhead costs more, especially the political office holders’ salaries and other overhead expenses.

“The situation is no longer the same when we used to pay N18, 000 minimum wage when oil was $126; now oil price is $41 and the source of government’s expenditure is from the oil.

“We will diversify our economy in the area of agriculture and mining. But at the same time, we should understand our situation where some of us today are taking N100 million as monthly allocation and we have salaries of over N2 billion to pay.”

“We are coming together in a roundtable with President Muhammadu Buhari and his team of ministers, technocrats and economic experts to see how we can tackle our situation,” the governor said.

The governors, Yari said, also resolved to hold a roundtable with all stakeholders to tackle the nation’s economic situation.

The NGF backed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over the N2.1 trillion fine slammed on telecoms firm MTN.

The governors insisted that the service provider must pay up in full.

Yari said the NGF’s support for the NCC came after its Acting Executive Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Umar Dambata, briefed the forum on the matter.

Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa said the economic situation was worrisome as more states would reach a stage where they would not be able to pay salaries.

“I believe that is the same situation with the Federal Government,’’ Okowa said.

He said there was a need to look into the salaries of political office holders and others.

“It is not a situation of being able to run government now. Most states are not able to pay salaries, not to talk of capital projects.

“If we cannot fund capital development, then the rest of Nigerians are just shut out of government.

“Those of us in government, both politicians and civil servants, are possibly not more than five per cent of the entire population of Nigeria.

“What will happen to the other 95 per cent? What happens to infrastructure? Can we talk about industry without infrastructure?’’ Okowa asked.

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi said there was no way the country could continue with a situation where expenditure was more than income.