Nigeria State Governors Give Commitment On Payment of Minimum Wage

The 36 Nigerian state chief executives, under the aegis of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF have agreed to pay the N18, 000 national minimum wage.

The Governors reached this decision after a meeting which held at the Rivers state Governor’s Lodge, Abuja on Saturday night.

“We, the executive governors of the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at our meeting held on July 15, 2011 at the Rivers State Governors Lodge under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum deliberated over a number of issues and resolved as follows.

“On the issue of minimum wage, the Forum resolved to comply with the provisions of the Minimum Wage Act and further agreed that individual states should commence implementation modalities,” Governor Rotimi Ameachi of Rivers State who is also the Chairman of NGF read the communique at the end of the meeting.

The state chief executives however failed to state when the payment will commence.

Amaechi said each of the Governors is expected to negotiate with the workers in their states on when the payment will commence.

The governors appealed to workers to cancel the proposed three-day warning strike designed to protest the non implementation of the minimum wage billed to commence next Wednesday.

Ameachi said since all the governors have agreed to comply with the provisions of the Minimum Wage Act, the proposed strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress and its affiliate unions is no longer necessary.

“There is no need for it again because we have all agreed to pay them the minimum wage, which we also considered to be a law and as law enforcers in our different sates, we won’t go against the law.”