Governors of the 36 states of the federation, under the body, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), have disclosed that consequential payment of the N30, 000 minimum wage will depend on the ability and capacity of each state to pay.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the NGF, and Ekiti state Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, at the end of a meeting of the Forum on Monday in Abuja.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Fayemi stated that the governors reviewed the current progress in the implementation of the Minimum Wage Law, and resolved that consequential increments will depend on the capacity of each state government.
According to the Chairman, “The FEC does not determine what happens in the states; state have their own state executive council and that is the highest decision making body at the state level.
“The forum as the representative body of the states, keenly followed what happened in the negotiations that transpired and led to that template.
“As far as as we are concerned, the best the forum can do is to stick with what has been agreed with the states.
“States are part of the tripartite negotiations. States agreed to that N30, 000 minimum wage increase. States also know that there will be consequential adjustment, but that will be determined on what happened on the state-by-state basis because there are different number of workers at state level and there are different issues at the state level.
“Every state has its own trade union joint negotiating committee and they will hold discussion with their state governments.
“You know that the day after this agreement was reached with labor, I was on record and I made the position of the governors clear, that for us, this was a national minimum wage increase, not a general minimum wage review.
“Yes, that may necessitate consequential increment. We have no doubt about that but that is a matter for the states to discuss with their workers.”
Reading the communique issued at the end of the meeting, Fayemi said following a health update by the NGF Secretariat, the forum commended the rapid response of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in curtailing the August 2019 yellow fever outbreak which broke out across the country.
According to him, members have pledged to commit counterpart resources to strengthen mass vaccination campaigns in their respective States.
He also added that members commended the progress made by state governments through their Social Health Insurance authorities, to enroll and provide health insurance cover for citizens across the country in the last one year.
Fayemi revealed that state governments have registered over two million people, compared to the five million Nigerians registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme over the last 14 years.
The Forum used the opportunity to remember Dr. Stella Adedavoh, the physician who attended to the Ebola Patient from Liberia, Patrick Sawyer, during the Ebola outbreak in 20I4 in Lagos State.
Fayemi said: “Dr. Adedavoh died from Ebola virus on 21st October 2014, but her memory lives on with the dream of ‘Healthcare for all Nigerians.”
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