Governors under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, have said that they are not elected to only pay salaries of civil servants.
They argued they were also elected to provide good roads, electricity, education and other necessary amenities for the people.
They said there was no way they could perform magic if there were no funds to work with.
They therefore called for the examination of the national income in the last 14 years to enable them to agree on the contentious issue of minimum wage implementation.
Chairman of the NGF, who is also the Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, made their position known to journalists after the meeting of the governors in Abuja on Wednesday night.
One of our correspondents reports that the committee working on the minimum wage is almost concluding negotiations on the matter.
The Federal Government had set a September date to roll out a new minimum wage for workers.
The Nigeria Labour Congress is proposing a minimum wage of N65,000 for workers, but the governors are insisting on the gradual implementation of the new wage, if eventually approved.
Yari said it was a pity that state governors had been limited to the payment of salaries alone in their respective states.
He said the lack of funds had hindered them from carrying out their responsibilities in other sectors such as health, electricity, education, roads, among others.
On minimum wage, he said, “We have a committee of six which represents us in discussions in the committee headed by the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige.
“The committee has yet to give us the final report. They have given us an interim report that at the Federal Government level, over 82 per cent is being spent on overheads which cannot move the country forward in terms of infrastructure development and development that we need now.
“So, on our own part, we are saying we are going to look at how our income is taken from our final account from 14 years ago so that we can come up and stay in the middle.”
He added, “I don’t think you people voted us only to pay salaries. You are looking for good roads, electricity, education and others. So, we can’t do magic. It’s only when we have the funds that we can do all those things.”
He disclosed that the governors also deliberated on the way the anti-graft agencies had been handling the war on corruption in the country.
He said that the governors resolved that both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corruption and other Related Offences Commission must adhere strictly to due process.
Resign if you can’t pay, workers tell govs
In response to the governor’s position, the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Peter Ozo-Eson, has lambasted the state chief executives.
Ozo-Eson, while speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone on Thursday, said it was ironic that governors who were mismanaging the resources of their states still had the guts to complain that they did not have enough funds to pay salaries.
The NLC official said governors should be mindful of the fact that payment of salaries was not a favour but a sacred obligation.