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The matter as to whether some States in the federation can afford to pay civil servants the new minimum wage of N30,000 is still raging like wild fire. After the Nigerian Labour Congress threatened the Federal Government some weeks ago with a strike action, the president accepted Labour’s offer by promising to look into the matter and reverting to the National Assembly to do the needful after due consultation has been made.
But since that time, some states governors have come out to say they cannot afford to pay workers the said amount, considering what their states make from IGR and the stipend that comes from the Federal pulse. Many of them have been frequenting Aso Rock trying to meet with President Buhari over the matter. The challenge many of the governors are facing is simply that of sacrificing their own luxurious lifestyles by cutting down on their own spending in order to be able to pay the said sum.
Some of the governors claimed that many of them still find it hard to pay regularly the former N18,000 monthly wage, and some states even owed workers many months of unpaid salaries. They added that N30,000 would be adding to the already burden their states have to carry, trying to meet other challenges confronting their states in terms of infrastructure development and other areas.
N30,000 is not too much for a Nigerian worker, considering the times and the period that we live in. As a matter of fact, Niger State Governor Abubakar Bello says he is ready to pay any amount agreed upon by the Federal Government and the Nigerian Governors Forum as the minimum wage for civil servants. The truth is, I believe most sates in Nigeria can and should be able to pay the said new wage, if the governors would be sincere enough to reduce their own spending, and cut down on their own excesses in office.