Ime Akpan
The federal government has bowed to pressure from the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) to review the subsisting revenue sharing formula as precondition for states to pay the proposed national minimum wage of N30, 000.
It was gathered that the governors tabled demand for the review at the National Economic Council (NEC) held in Abuja yesterday and chaired by the vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
A source privy to the NEC meeting said that the governors’ stance prompted the federal government to decide to take the governors’ request to the Council of State scheduled for next Tuesday.
The Council of State consists of the president, who is the chairman; the vice-president, who is the deputy chairman, all former presidents of Nigeria and all former heads of the government of the federation, all former chief justices of Nigeria, the senate president, the speaker of the House of Representatives; all state governors and the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice.
The last time the Council of State held was 11 months ago, on February 22, 2018, to deliberate on the economy, security and 2019 elections.
“We are making progress. We will be meeting with the Council of State on Tuesday, January 22. The governors are asking for a review of the revenue sharing formula and government is looking at that. The Minimum Wage Technical Advisory Committee inaugurated recently is looking into the revenue sharing formula,” said the source.
Asked to be specific on whether the federal government had agreed to allocate more resources to state governments, the source said “everything is in progress.”
Briefing journalists after the NEC meeting, the governor of Kebbi State, Mr. Abubakar Bagudu, affirmed that the issue of minimum wage was discussed but added that he did not have the mandate of the council to brief on that.
But the minister of labour and employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, who was the conciliator between organised labour and the federal government, said the Council of State would take a decision on the matter next week.
Asked what the resolution of the controversial minimum wage was, Ngige said: “Well, there is no outcome as such, it’s a work in progress, the Information minister told you the other day after the federal executive council that we are taking our deliberations to the NEC and then we close up on January 22 at the National Council of State. After that, we will be able to say where we are going.
“Figure, frequency of review, those that have exemption and everything about the bill so that people will know because by then, we will be ready to transmit it to the National Assembly in consonance with our agreement with labour that we will transmit the new bill on or before January 23.”
Also reminded that governors have been insisting that they cannot pay N30, 000, he said: “Well, it is not a question that the governors are saying that they cannot pay N30, 000.
“Discussions are still ongoing and will terminate on January 22 when we meet with the National Council of State.”
