President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met behind closed doors with some State Governors in the State House over the lingering issue of new minimum wage. Governors at the meeting include Governors of Zamfara, Lagos, Kaduna and Enugu, while the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige was also in attendance.
According to a source in the Presidency, the meeting was aimed at resolving controversies that greeted the submission of a proposed N30, 000 new minimum wage to the President by the Tripartite committee. The source said the President was ready to submit the proposal to the Federal Executive Council for approval and subsequent passage to the National Assembly hence the need for a meeting with the State Governors.
The State Governors had claimed that the Committee failed to consider their reports before arriving at the proposal. They lamented that prevailing economic realities would make it impossible for them to pay the proposed wage. The Governors however said for the proposed wage to be effectively implemented, workforce must be downsized across the country.
Meanwhile, leadership of Organized Labour has called on worker to vote out governors that not willing to pay the proposed minimum wage.
