The N70,000 Minimum Wage Law was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, and several state governors have formed implementation committees to oversee the new salary.
Yet, some have decided to hold off until they hear from the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), while others have stated they could make the payment without laying off employees.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for example, has approved the formation of a tripartite committee in Kwara State to determine the consequential adjustment component for other worker categories.
Rafiu Ajakaye, the governor's main press secretary, stated, "This comes as a new national minimum wage has been pegged at N70,000, triggering a need for consequential adjustments for senior cadres of workers in the state."
The committee is made up of state government representatives, the organized private sector and labor centers.
The head of service serves as the chair, the commissioner for finances serves as the vice-chair, and the secretary is the director of establishment and pension.
The commissioners for communications, works and transportation, local government and chieftaincy affairs, budget and planning, permanent secretaries (Finance, Service Welfare, and Justice), and the governor's senior special assistant on labor matters are among the other members of the committee.
The sector is represented on the committee by the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, the chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the chairman of the Joint Negotiation Council (JNC), the chairman of COHESU, and the federal controller on labor and employment additionally to the JNC secretary.
The business sector is represented by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, and the Kwara Chamber of Commerce (KWACCIMA).
"We need to wait for the report of the tripartite committee set up by the governor to know the details of what it will cost the government to implement the new minimum wage for its workers," a top government official stated while discussing the financial ramifications of adopting the new minimum wage.
He declared, "The state government would engage the public or civil officials to inform them about it if we can pay or if there is a contrary cause.
Ashoms said that the state was spending N2.9 billion a month on salaries at the time the minimum wage was set at N30,000.
He added that raising the minimum wage to N70,000 will come with a monthly cost of N5.9 billion.
The commissioner also made a hint that the state receives N7 billion each month from the federation account.
In the end, Ashoms stated, there will only be N2 billion left, which will not be sufficient to support more projects or payments for matching funds, among other things.
Additionally, he said that layoffs are not being considered by the state administration, saying, "As it stands
According to our correspondent, Hon. Musa Ashoms, the commissioner for information and communication in Plateau State, people who are aware of the state's financial predicament are carefully assessing the situation to determine whether the State government would be able to pay the new minimum wage.
It is currently holding recruiting drives at MDAs and tertiary institutions owned by the government.
In an interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend, Hon. Declan Emelumba, the commissioner of information, stated that the Imo State administration is prepared to pay the N70,000.
He claimed that a system had been put in place to provide financial support for the introduction of the new minimum wage.
According to him, retirements and promotions cause regular fluctuations in the overall remuneration of workers' pay.
Emelumba emphasized that their goal as a responsible and responsive administration is to inspire employees to achieve maximum production rather than to lay off workers.
According to the Zamfara State government, a meeting of the state governors is required before a new minimum wage can be adopted.
The director general (DG) of communications and media in In a phone chat, LEADERSHIP Weekend was informed by Government House, Gusau Malam Nuhu Salihu Anka, that Zamfara has enacted a minimum salary of N30,000, which will be paid beginning in June.
"The governors' meeting, which is anticipated to take place soon, will determine whether or not the N70,000 minimum wage for each state in the nation is adopted," he stated.
Regarding the total amount spent on salaries, he stated that there is no set figure, although occasionally the majority of the monthly allotments from the federal allocation are used for compensation payments.
Kebbi State is currently awaiting a response from the Nigeria Governors' Forum over the implementation of the new pay, according to Governor Nasir Idris.
He gave employees assurances in the state that he is prepared to carry out any directive from the federal government.
According to information obtained by LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, the government used more than N 1 billion a month to pay salaries prior to this change.
But he added that if the new N70,000 wage is put into effect, the state could need to ask for more federal funding in order to satisfy the required demand.
The government of Ekiti State has stated that it is willing to pay the higher wage.
In an interview with LEADERSHIP in Ado Ekiti, the information commissioner, Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun, promised that Governor Biodun Oyebanji will not let down the people of Ekiti over the new wage.
"He had not let them down, especially when it came to making sure that the workforce and the people of the entire state were taken care of and welfare-wise. In my opinion, that At the national and sub-national levels, there are continuing talks, consultations, and several other interfaces between the stakeholders, he said.
"Every government in the world can only achieve so much with the availability of resources, and I believe resources to meet the needs of the people can never be enough," he replied when asked if the state needed more federal funding to pay the increased wage.
According to him, this is the reason the Ekiti administration is working really hard to develop the state so that it can produce resources without burdening the populace.
"Whether we like it or not, we would prefer to have more resources. However, we are making accommodations for it, which is why the state is working with development partners to create Our agricultural interventions—variables that will entice young people to participate more—support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise businesses in order to boost the state's economy, especially in the area of agricultural products, which in turn make food available to the public and draw in investors.
"The goal of all of these is to ensure that the economy is strengthened and to produce additional resources beyond those provided by the Federation Account.
"I think the governors are talking about a lot of things in the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) and the Federal Economic Council (FEC), and I'm pretty confident that one of those topics will be having more resources. However, Ekiti is making efforts to acquire additional resources, and it it won't be detrimental to have more of them.
He declared that the new minimum wage will not lead to job layoffs by the state government.
Agbu Kefas, the governor of Taraba State, declared that he would be willing to pay civil servants whatever salary the federal government decides upon.
"I'm willing to cover any minimum wage bill that the federal government enacts for federal employees. said Kefas.
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