The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened a showdown following Governor Muhammad Yahaya of Gombe State’s declaration that the state would be unable to pay the newly mandated ₦70,000 minimum wage.
President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage bill into law on Monday, making the ₦70,000 payment mandatory for all states.
However, speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting on Tuesday at the state Government House in Gombe, Governor Yahaya expressed his reservations.
“I cannot pay the N70,000 minimum wage, and I suspect many other states are in the same predicament,” he said.
In an interview with Punch on Wednesday, the NLC Secretary in Gombe State, Ibrahim Fika, stated that the governor’s declaration, especially coming from the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, is a call for renewed struggle by organized labour.
“The governor has said his mind before us. We are anticipating the table of the national headquarters for the adjustment; from there we will start our own struggle because, as we all know, the new minimum wage is now a law after passing through scrutiny in the legislature and getting the presidential assent,” Fika said.
He continued, “We don’t see the reason why a governor will say he can’t afford to pay N70,000. We are expecting governors to pay more than that, not less. We will do our possible best to see that Gombe enjoys the new minimum wage by God’s grace.”
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