NGF Advises Committee On Peculiarities In Payment.

Nigeria Governors’ Forum has advised the National Minimum Wage Committee to take into account present circumstances, unique characteristics of individual states, and the resulting effects on both government and private sector employers’ ability to pay when determining the wage amount.

Labour unions said, the existing national minimum wage of N30,000 is no longer viable, considering the steep inflation rate of 29.9 per cent reported by the National Bureau of Statistics in the country, stressing that, in early January, the Federal Government launched the tripartite committee responsible for deliberating on the national minimum wage, while, Vice President Kashim Shettima inaugurated the 37-member panel at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja.

The Committee comprises representatives from federal and state governments, the private sector, and organised labour, the committee’s mandate is to propose a revised national minimum wage for the nation, and following consultations nationwide, workers have requested varying minimum wage rates across different geopolitical zones, while, the Federal Government Minimum Wage Panel has initiated the compilation of reports from public hearings conducted in various zones.

NGF, in a communique issued at the conclusion of its virtual meeting, and signed by its Chairman, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman stated that, the importance of incorporating state policing as a crucial amendment in the ongoing 1999 Constitutional amendment process is to address a fundamental flaw in the national security framework.

The communique among others urged the Committee to consider the current realities, individual state peculiarities, and consequential impact on the capacity of the government as well as private sector employers to pay, and  also emphasized the need for proposals to be data- driven and evidence-based.