Thirty-six governors under the auspices of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) have resolved that implementation of the N30,000 new minimum wage and the consequential increments should be paid depending on the capacity of the states.
This was the outcome of a meeting of the governors held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja on Monday.
By the resolve, any state that is able to pay the new minimum wage can do so and it also implies that states that cannot implement it would not be compelled to do so.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting that lasted for several hours, chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Ekiti State governor Kayode Fayemi, explained that the governors took the position based on the fact that states have different numbers of workers with varied trade unions.
“We members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), at our meeting today at Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja, deliberated on several issues.
“Governors reviewed current progress in the implementation of the Minimum Wage Law and resolved that consequential increments will depend on the capacity of each State government.
“Yes, States have agreed on the N30,000 minimum wage, but that will depend on the states because there are different number of workers and trade unions and each state will implement it according to its capacity, ” Fayemi said.
On the N614 billion bailout deductions by the federal government, Fayemi confirmed that government had commenced monthly removal of the money from accounts of various states.
“On the N614 billion bailout deductions, the money is being deducted from states accounts,” Fayemi confirmed.
The governors had earlier refused to accept the deductions and insisted that the states were being owed by the federal government on rehabilitation of roads.
But sources at the meeting said the governors during the meeting were bent on not accepting the bailout deductions by the federal government till debts owed states would be settled.
Speaking further, Fayemi said the governors were impressed on the rapid response of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency to arrest the August 2019 yellow fever outbreak which broke out across parts of the country.
Consequently, the governors have pledged to commit counterpart resources to strengthen mass vaccination campaigns in their respective States.
Also, the governors “commended the progress made by State governments through their Social Health Insurance Authorities to enrol and provide health insurance cover for citizens across the country.
“In the last one year, State governments have registered over 2 million people compared to 5 million Nigerians registered under the National Health insurance scheme over the last 14 years.
“Finally, the Forum remembered Dr. Stella Adedavoh, the physician who attended to ‘Patient 0’ during the Ebola Outbreak in 20I4 in Lagos State. Dr. Adedavoh died from Ebola virus on 21″ October 2014, but her memory lives on with the dream of ‘Healthcare for all Nigerians,” Fayemi stated.
