Governors are not considering a minimum wage that is higher than N70,000, it was learnt last night.

At a meeting yesterday in Abuja, the state helmsmen reviewed the economic situation and concluded that anything above N70,000 will not be affordable and sustainable.

They ruled out the N100,000 option being dangled by some people.

Sources at the meeting said the governors, who met under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), considered options between N60,000 offered to Labour by the Federal Government before the strike, and N70,000, which is what the Edo State Government has started paying.

Having failed to reach a consensus on a uniform amount, a committee headed by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma was set up.

Uzodimma is the chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) – governors elected on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Yesterday’s position of the governors is in line with a previous statement by Chairman of NGF and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq that states will only agree to a minimum wage that is “affordable and sustainable”.

A source at the meeting said: “After deliberation on the minimum wage, we decided to consider options between N60,000 and N70,000 a month. We could not reach a concrete decision on the wage rate for states.

“Eventually, a committee, to be led by Governor Uzodimma, was mandated to look at all presentations and make recommendations.

“The NGF will soon reconvene to consider the Uzodimma Committee report.”

The source added: “No state can afford to pay a N100,000 minimum wage and we have ruled out this benchmark.

“Records available to us indicated that some states are still paying N18,000 because they are unable to afford N30,000 (which came into effect in 2019). Only a state has adopted a N70, 000 wage.”

No N105,000 proposal, says Presidency

The Presidency debunked claims that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, submitted a N105,000 new minimum wage proposal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The President met yesterday with Edun after an audience with an International Finance Corporation (IFC) team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

It was gathered that Edun submitted the proposal for a new wage for the least-paid Nigerian worker to the President.

However, reports published by some online media platforms claimed that the minister proposed N105,000.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the N105,000 proposal as false.

“The Honorable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has not proposed N105,000 minimum wage.

“The contrary story being disseminated is false”, Onanuga wrote on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle. (The Nation)

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