The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) on Wednesday said that the only way they can afford the ₦30, 000 minimum wage recommended by the Tripartite Committee On The Review Of Minimum Wage was to downsize the civil service.

Arising from a meeting held in Abuja to deliberate on the ₦30, 000 minimum wage being demanded by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the governors maintained that they could not afford to pay that amount with their current meager revenue allocation.

Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, the NGF Chairman and  Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari said that a committee will be put together to meet with President Buhari to discuss the need for an increase in the revenue allocated to states.

“Following a meeting of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum where we deliberated on the national minimum wage, governors resolved to re-strategize and put together another committee to meet with the President once again, to work out another formula towards quickly resolving the problem associated with the proposed ₦30.000 minimum wage which is impracticable unless labour agrees to a downsizing of the workforce all over the country or the Federal Government itself accedes to the review of the national revenue allocation formula.

“Members of the committee who were nominated to see the President include the governors of Lagos, Kebbi, Plateau, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Enugu and Kaduna,” Yari said

Governor Yari added that all the governors had seen the report of the Tripartite Committee  presented to President Muhammadu Buhari, expressing regret that the Ama Pepple-led committee did not consider their submission to pay ₦22, 500 as minimum wage.