Minimum Wage: Fayemi Backs Wike On Revenue Allocation Review

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, at the weekend said that the Federal Government needed to address the current revenue allocation formula, to enable state governments pay the new minimum wage being requested by workers, a position earlier raised by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
Fayemi spoke when he received the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Ayuba Wabba, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office, in Ado-Ekiti.
He said that Ekiti, which receives one of the lowest allocations in the country, would require extra N2bn monthly to be able to pay.
The governor, who explained that the N30,000 minimum wage was not a comfortable living wage for workers, said he was convinced that governors would pay if the Federal Government creates the enabling environment for them to do so.
He, however suggested a collective approach by labour leadership, the government and the general public.
“As long as we have the revenue allocation formula that we have in the country, even in states where you have willing partners and comrades that are not going to contend the N30,000 figure, if nothing is done about current revenue allocation, this will be tough on states.
“In fact, this N30,000 is not even enough, Mr President, I don’t know anyone who can really live
comfortably on N30,000, let alone the N18,000 we are currently paying.
“I think we need a collective approach to this beyond the game of numbers.
“The workers are very critical components to the productive base of our country, because it is the human capital and it has to be motivated human capital.
“ It has to be an enthusiastic human capital that can deliver the goods to the populace,” Fayemi said.
The NLC President, who met with the governor together with some national and Ekiti State labour union leaders, had solicited the cooperation of all governors in the payment of the N30,000 minimum wage.
He said that all states should be able to afford it.