18,000 minimum wage: We are saying we should tighten our belts – Yari

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Zamfara State Governor and chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara has said it was extremely necessary for the state governors, the presidency and the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC to negotiate over the 18,000 minimum wage.

The governor said that the dwindling oil prices has drastically affected the revenue generation of most States which can no longer live pay salaries of workers.wage

He stated that therefore no need living under pretense when in reality, the revenues were not coming.

Yari who fielded questions from State House Correspondents after a private meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday at the presidential villa also denied making categorical statement on pruning down the wage.

He said: “Let me make it very clear to Nigerians, Governor’s Forum is not the enemy of labour in any way. Rather, we have been working together. But what we are saying, because not only Gov. Wike but also my friend in the comradeship, Adams Oshiomhole, kicked against the decision.

“Although in the decision, we never said that we are going to stop the payment of N18,000 minimum wage but we are looking at the situation in the country and in the global economy.

“What we said is that when the National Assembly enacted the law of paying N18,000 minimum wage, then the oil was about $118 per barrel and today where we are oil is $41 per barrel.

“So, if it continues like that, definitely, we will find it difficult to continue. We have to sit down with the labour and see how we can review, either continue or downsizing or what we are going to do. We want to find a solution because we have to be realistic that we have so many things to touch. There is infrastructure deficit, there is need for security, there are other things like social lives of our people and nation as a state.

“The receipt from federation account, some people received N400 million, N500 million. Some others received N55 million, two digits. And there are other issues, not even the salary, their pension is over a billion. So, how can we continue borrowing and servicing the service aspect of our expenditure, or over head? How can we do that?

“We are telling the public that we are planning to sit down with the President and his team and the state governors as a team and the experts to come out with the way forward and how we are going to handle the poor state of the economy in the country.

“But what we have on ground now will not be realistic if it continues the way it is without having other sources from the economy and still relying on oil that is being sold for $118 dollar per barrel and now down to $41 and think that we can continue behaving or misbehaving the way we are doing, if there is anything like that.

“Therefore we are saying that we should tighten our belts. Something definitely, we should sit down and come out of it to find a way we are going to do it realistically or otherwise.”

Speaking on the position taken by Governors Adams Oshiomole and Nyesom Wike of Edo and Rivers States respectively, Yari said that the States were rich with industries that in turn raise their Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.

He regretted that some States such as his were not that lucky as most of their revenue generating institutions had been shut down due to power shortages.

“I can understand why the Governor of Rivers state is speaking the way he is speaking. He thinks every place is Rivers. It is not.

“For instance, in my state, the tiny state that is my own which has more than 3 textile plants because of energy all have been closed, NNPC shut down. We have about 37 gunneries because of shortage of power they all closed down. And these are places where we can earn our revenue. You cannot in anyway rub shoulder with Rivers who has giant companies in oil exploration and having so many thousands of staff that are paying their dues when due, and at the same time Lagos."

If Rivers state governor mentioned something like that Yes, that is the case of Rivers. But in other places where the issue of IGR is stopped as I duly mentioned many times without number that look, how do you get funding?

“If there is no level playing ground that made the IGR to go up or down, if you don’t have so many infrastructure in place, you don’t have the energy to fire our industries, you have the issue of textiles , the issue of milling and so on and so forth. Therefore, how can we get revenue? Can we go door to door and start knocking for people to pay their own due when they are looking for their own and hardly to get at least two square meals daily.

“Can you knock on his door and ask him to pay government for development? So we know that it is trouble for us. We need to close ranks, both the federal and the state governments to see if we can sit down and settle this project of the economy”, he said.

Lending his voice on the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa State this Saturday, the chairman urged the people of the state to turn out enmasse and vote to deep the practice of democracy.

“My advise to the general public is that we can now start calling ourselves advanced country when it comes to democracy in Africa.

“As big, as large as Nigeria, we can demonstrate the voters rights to choose what you want and the public now are the ones that will install the leadership by themselves as well as the President.

“Therefore, people should turn out en masse and vote to do their own constitutional or legitimate rights to choose their leadership.

As the president is saying that he wants to leave the legacy of a good election because he was one of the beneficiaries of a good election. So, it is no longer going to be business as usual where the security will be the people to do the election but rather to safeguard the interest of the public.

“Therefore, the people of Bayelsa and Kogi states should turn out en masse and choose their leadership because that is what we are benefitting from who are here”, Yari told Journalists.

Source: Vanguard