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Borno State says its local governments cannot implement the ₦70,000 minimum wage because they are overstaffed.
Therefore, the state government said it has directed the chairpersons of the councils to devise a workable solution for its implementation.
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It noted that Kano State, with 44 local councils, have only 30,000 local government workers, whereas Borno, with only 27 councils, has three times as many with 90,000 workers.
The government stated that the process for implementing the new minimum wage stalled because of the unusually high number of staff, which was complicating payroll and minimum wage administration.
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“Local governments are already overstretched, and the current staff level has become an obstacle to implementing the ₦70,000 minimum wage,” Modu Alhaji, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, said in a statement on Monday.
He explained that Maiduguri Metropolitan Council’s monthly allocation from the federal government sometimes stood below ₦700 million, while it needs ₦778 million monthly to pay the minimum wage to its workers.
The claim of a bloated payroll came despite the government conducting two verification exercises for council workers in 2020.
According to a report on the exercises, out of the 71,558 staff on the list submitted to the verification committee, only 63,291 presented themselves for the exercise, out of which 56,806 were cleared for biometric capture.
Kaka Mallam, who led the verification committee, had said the exercise saved the government ₦237 million monthly, reducing the salary wage bill of the 27 local governments from ₦1.1 billion to ₦965 million.
Gov. Zulum speaks
Speaking about the development, Governor Babagana Zulum asked the local government leaders to consult and produce a workable template for implementation.
He, however, warned them against staff cuts.
“We are not in support of staff retrenchment at the local government level, as I direct you to institute a mechanism that will lead to the implementation of the minimum wage.
“I want to appeal to workers at the local government level to be patient. We are working closely with the 27 local governments to ensure the implementation of the minimum wage,” Mr Zulum told the chairpersons, according to a statement by his spokesperson, Dauda Illiya.
New minimum wage long overdue – LG workers, NLC react
Meanwhile, local government workers have reacted to the statement, asking the government to expedite action because the implementation of the minimum wage was long overdue.
Some of the workers, who claimed they were still being paid as little as N10,000, said the salaries were not sustainable under the current economic reality.
“Government is not serious. Forget about the ₦70,000 wage; are we even enjoying the ₦30,000 minimum wage? Let me tell you, even the ₦18,000 minimum is still not implemented in some local governments. They are just doing propaganda,” a staff member of Bayo Local Government said while asking this reporter not to mention his name.
“We have waited since October last year. Verification has been conducted since 2020. Teachers were lucky; they got the minimum wage,” said Chairman Umar in Biu.
However, the Nigerian Labour Congress in the state commended the governor for his efforts in implementing the wage regime.
“Your Excellency, whenever we attend the national executive meetings, the national body is very much happy because primary school teachers are being paid ₦72,000 as minimum wage.
“Your Excellency, when I stood up during one of our meetings to announce that primary school teachers are being paid ₦72,000 in Borno State, I was applauded, and you were highly commended,” said Yusuf Inuwa, the NLC chairperson.
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