8th June, 2024
A chieftain of New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo has advised governors across the country to cut down their salary if they are truly serving their people.
Oguntoyinbo made this declaration in view of the rejection of the Federal Government’s proposed new monthly minimum wage of N60,000 by the state governors.
The Federal Government had proposed N60,000 as the new minimum wage for workers across the country.
The proposal had been rejected by the governors under the auspices of Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
NGF in a statement by the Acting Director of Media Affairs and Public Relations, Halima Ahmed, noted that if allowed to fly, many states would use all their monthly allocations from the Federation Account to pay workers’ salaries.
Oguntoyinbo in his reaction, described as insensitive and wicked, the rejection of the Federal Government’s proposed new monthly minimum wage of N60,000 by the state governors.
Ajadi said the governors were too hasty in their rejection of N60,000 minimum wage because the Labour Unions have not even agreed to the proposal. He then used the opportunity to appeal to members of the tripartite committee to agree on a minimum wage that would be fair and sustainable.
The NNPP chieftain in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday said he was shocked at the reaction of the governors to the N60,000 proposal. He contended that one of their members, the Edo State Governor, Dr Godwin Obaseki on his own volition had started paying N70,000 monthly minimum wage in his state. He urged the governors to cut down their own salary to N60,000 if they are truly serving their people.
“I am totally shocked that the governors could come out to say that they cannot pay the proposed N60,000 minimum Wage. That pronouncement by the governors showed that they are insensitive to the plight workers and the masses. I see it as a wicked pronouncement. In the first instance, they were too hasty in their reactions, as the Labour Unions have not even agreed to the proposal. If the governors are serving the people as they usually claim, they should cut their own salaries to N60,000 too. I will also suggest that the governors should be paid according to their qualifications. They should realize that the workers attend the same market their wives and children attended. Since the removal of subsidy, the Federal Government has jacked up the monthly allocation to the states. What are the governors doing with the money. Part of the money should be used to pay the new minimum wage when agreed by the tripartite committee. President Bola Tinubu has severally warned the governors to make use of the increase in the monthly allocations to better the lots of their citizens. So one is shocked that the governors have the effrontery to reject a merely N60,000 proposal.
“The question we need to even ask is, what can N60,000 buy in the present state of economy. It can’t feed a worker for two weeks. When finally there is an agreement on the new minimum wage, I urge the governors to be sincere and ensure the prompt payment in their states,” Ajadi stated.