N70k minimum wage: Controversy erupts as states protest against FG's allocation

4 weeks ago 80

Although President Tinubu has signed the new minimum wage bill into law but some state governors are yet to implement the N70,000 wage
In fact, President Bola Tinubu's decision to save for the rainy day which includes the implementation of the new wage has been met with opposing views from states
This is as representatives of state governments at the recently held FAAC meeting faulted Tinubu's decision to set aside N600 billion for financial obligations including the payment of the 70,000 minimum wage

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements

Representatives of state governments at the last Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting bemoaned the federal government's decision to save additional revenue for the payment of the new minimum wage.

This development, which affected their revenue distribution from the federation committee, was received with opposing views when an update on statutory allocation showed that the government transferred a sum of N200 billion into the non-savings account at the August FAAC meeting, making a total of N595 billion.

The Commissioners of Finance, Akwa Ibom, Dr Linus Noah; Delta, Okenmor Tilije and Ekiti, Akintunde Oyebode raised the observation at the last FAAC meeting held August 16, 2024, minutes of which our correspondent obtained.

At the meeting, the committee distributed a total sum of N1.36 trillion to the three tiers of government, N1 billion less than N1.35 trillion shared in June.

They expressed strong discontent over the federal government’s decision to allocate an additional N200 billion into a non-oil savings account.

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As reported by The Punch, the commissioners of finance, Akwa Ibom state, Dr Linus Noah; Delta state, Okenmor Tilije and Ekiti state, Akintunde Oyebode, raised the observation at the last FAAC meeting held on August 16, 2024.

In his opening address, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, applauded President Bola Tinubu for signing the National Minimum Wage Act into law, adding that its implementation will be of immense benefit to all Nigerians.

But after a presentation by a representative from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation on the gross statutory revenue and necessary deductions of N1.29tn, the commissioner took turns to question the reasoning for such deduction.

Reacting, the Commissioner of Finance, Akwa Ibom State, Dr Linus Noah faulted the move, stressing that the income should be shared in view of the current financial challenges faced by the states.

Additionally, Dr Noah’s counterpart from Delta State, Okenmor Tilije, disagreed with the proposed idea of saving the money for the benefit of the central government only and asked that it be shared to augment the distributable allocation.

The minutes read:

“The HCF, Akwa Ibom State, referred to the provision made in the month for transfer to Non-Oil Savings Account. He proposed that given the financial challenges facing the states, the amount should be used to augment the distributable revenue for the month.“In addition, the HCF, Delta State, agreed with his counterpart from Akwa Ibom State on the need to share the N595bn in the Non-Oil Savings Account to augment the distributable revenue.”

Responding, the AGF explained that the decision was taken to save for the rainy day and upcoming financial obligations, including payments of the N70,000 minimum wage.

Civil servants threaten states over N70,000 minimum wage

In a related development, Legit.ng reported that Civil Servants had threatened to shut down states if the governors refuse to implement the N70,000 new national minimum wage.

The president of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Shehu Muhammed, said the workers would go after states not ready to implement the new minimum wage.

Source: Legit.ng

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