States Need Increased Allocation to Pay Minimum Wage - Oyebanji

Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji said on Wednesday that governors, as part of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, were not opposed to the approval of a living wage for Nigerian workers. 

Oyebanji clarified that the NGF is advocating for fiscal federalism that would enable individual states to have the ability and capability to pay their workers. 

The issue of implementing the new minimum wage has led to a battle between organized labour and the Federal Government. 

The tripartite committee recommended N62,000 to President Bola Tinubu, but the governors argued that most states could not afford the amount and suggested a peg of N57,000 for the new minimum wage. 

Despite this, organized labour pushed for a benchmark of N250,000 during the final meeting of the tripartite committee, leading to conflict with the governors. 

Oyebanji emphasized during the Seventh Quadrennial Delegates’ Conference of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria in Ado Ekiti that no state wants to reduce its workforce and that each state is focused on determining a wage that is sustainable without leading to layoffs. 

He reiterated that the NGF was not against a living wage or minimum wage, but believed it should be based on fiscal federalism and the ability of states to pay.