Minimum wage: No state will pay less than N30,000- Governors

• Wants review of revenue sharing formula

The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has promised that no state would pay less than N30,000 as minimum wage, as governors are committed to the minimum wage act.

Fayemi further added that governors of the 36 States of the federation, have expressed their desire for a review of the current revenue sharing formula, to make more funds available to states and local governments.

According to him, the review had been long over due, as the two lower tiers of government were battling additional responsibilities.

The NGF chairman who stated this while fielding questions from State House Correspondents on Monday, disclosed that under the current revenue sharing formula, the federal government takes the lion’s share of 52.68 per cent from the Federation Account, the 36 states take 26.72 per cent, while the balance of 20.60 per cent is given to the 774 local governments in the country.

He said: “A review of the revenue sharing formula is still the position of the Nigeria’s Governors Forum. We feel that it is time for the revenue sharing formula to change and we have made a representation to the President and Commander-in-Chief.

“This is not just under the Buhari administration; this has been an ongoing agitation that started way back since the time of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. It continued during former President Umar Yar’Adua and former President Goodluck Jonathan. So, it isnot just something that has been brought out under President Buhari.

“The process is that Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) will do its own due diligence, consult widely with critical stakeholders and we have also made available our own representation to RMAFC.

“Now that we have a full-fledged RMAFC in place with a Chairman and other members appointed, it is our expectation that this will be taken up by RMAFC with Mr President in a manner that we have taken it up.”

Fayemi however noted that some states were already paying the minimum wage, while some states needed to conclude the negotiations on consequential adjustments before paying.

He said: “The minimum wage is a law. But, a National Minimum Wage Act is not a general minimum wage review. They are two separate things.

“Governors are committed to the minimum wage act and no one is going to pay anything less than N30, 000. Some of us have started paying N30, 000 as you may be aware, others want negotiations on the consequential adjustments to end before they start paying the minimum wage.”